Flights of Fancy
by Virginia Wolfe
Summary: Women bandits? Unheard of. Women disguised as male bandits? It could happen. When two girls set off to escape their destinies, they've no idea that the adventure of a lifetime awaits them. But the best adventures are never easy. Tasuki/OC, Chichiri/OC
1. Chapter 1

_**Flights of Fancy**_

**Disclaimer: The characters from Fushigi Yuugi are the creations and property of Yuu Watase and related enterprises. However, Akari, Hiro and any of the other original characters are products of my overly active imagination, and my compulsive need to see to it that everyone winds up happy. Or at least some version of happy. **

**Rating: PG-13 just to be safe. This thing has a mind of its own. The rating may or may not change as it continues. The violence isn't horrific, but it is there. The humor isn't crude, and the language isn't blush-worthy. However, it isn't a happy-go-lucky read either. I suppose the best adventures aren't. **

**Timeline/Spoiler: I've set it after the first two OVAs, but before the third. I don't know if the third will even exist in this story. We could easily say a year has passed since the end of the second OVA. If you haven't seen them, you won't flounder helplessly during the reading of this, but I will make references to different things that occurred in them. So it may help your reading if you take a moment to familiarize yourself with them. **

**Author's Note: So this is my first story of any sort relating to an anime/manga series. While I may be forced to duck and cover for saying it, I'm going to step out on a (very shaky) limb and admit that I am not a huge anime fan. I've seen two or three series, and both of them because of my sister. She's the fan. However, the two or three that I've seen, I have thoroughly enjoyed. I've had this story floating around my head for a while now, but I was not brave enough to commit it to writing. But my muse got the better of me. She always does. **

**Now, I will say that the only exposure that I've had to Fushigi Yuugi is the english dubbed anime. I haven't seen it in Japanese, and I haven't read any of the mangas. So the characters that I'm writing are the ones I'm familiar with. I hope that doesn't scare any of you away because I'm having SO much fun with this particular story. More than I've had in a while. If you're reading this, then you're curious. So why not just continue reading and see what you think. I would promise you that you wouldn't be disappointed, but I'm not a psychic. I'm simply a lowly author. **

**So read on & enjoy "Flights of Fancy"...**

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Chapter One

"Thirty-six...thirty-seven...thirty-eight...thirty-nine..." A sharp exhale sounded from within the carriage, but Hiro barely batted an eyelash. "You made it to thirty-nine." Her voice was flat and rather lifeless. 'Just like this dreaded country,' she thought to herself.

"Thirty-nine? That's three more seconds than last time! That," Akari remarked pointing her finger in the air as if she was performing a lecture, "is what I call improvement." She flipped her long white hair through her fingers and away from her eyes.

Hiro still had yet to take notice of her riding companion.

The carriage trudged along forcing the girls to make good use of their seat cushions as the carriage driver made absolutely no attempt to avoid bumps or sizable rocks. She wondered if the carriages in front and behind them were having the same _fun_ as they were.

The Konan countryside was vast and seemingly endless as it stretched in all directions, and according to the coachman, they were still a good ways away from Eiyo, the capital city. Hiro glanced into the trees that skirted by her window. At least there was a bit of shade in the meantime. Apparently, a good portion of the country was flat lands with very little shade to speak of, and the sun was viciously streaming into her eyes. Fortunately, the driver was sensible enough to take this road up the mountain. Perhaps it was the longer road to take, but there were trees everywhere providing glorious shade so it was a smart trade.

Hiro blinked.

Was the immense heat from the sun getting to her? Or was there movement through the trees? She blinked again and tried to refocus. The forest was dense, and there was no way to discern anything.

No. No movement. Not now anyways.

"Time me again," Akari called out. Hiro fought the urge to roll her eyes, and graciously turned to face her riding companion. If Akari noticed any dormant hostility in her nursemaid, she didn't let on. "Do it. I want to see if I can make it past thirty-nine."

"This will be the sixth time you've done it, and if you aren't careful, you're going to give yourself a headache. What's say we round your last turn up to forty seconds and end this?" Hiro asked, peeking at Akari through her dark blue bangs. Green eyes stared back, and Hiro knew those eyes well enough to know that Akari was hardly amused.

"What's say you remember whose employment you're in, and do as I say." She folded her hands daintily in her lap. "I didn't _ask_ you to time me. I _told_ you to time me. Now, have we cleared this up?"

Hiro paused for the tiniest moment before offering a quiet 'Yes, my lady', and Akari smiled. "Good." She exhaled slowly, and then took a deep breath filling her lungs with all the possible air that it could contain.

After all, there was nothing else to do on this blasted carriage trip through the entire stretch of Konan. Akari had already finished all of the books that she had brought with her for the trip from Touran, Hokkan's capital city. Some of them, she had read twice. And Eiyo was still a good days away. She signaled to Hiro, and Hiro began the count.

"One...two...three...four..."

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Meanwhile, through the trees and well beyond the view from the carriage, the men stood waiting.

Waiting for their boss's signal.

Waiting for the right time to strike.

Waiting for the fun to begin.

The men all turned, seemingly as one, and looked to their leader. Kouji grinned and ran his fingers through his thick head of blue hair.

"It's show time boys!"

And without a moment's hesitation, the group of ten or so men spread out as silently and as stealthily as lions on the prowl and took off after the carriage. Kouji laughed and ran after them.

This was what made life worth the living.

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"This is dreadful!" Akari growled to everyone and no one all at the same time. "Absolutely dreadful! If I live to be a hundred and two and never see another stupid tree or wandering peasant, it will be too soon!"

She threw a small pillow at the wall sitting opposite her, very nearly hitting Hiro in the process. Her nursemaid looked between the discarded pillow and her charge sitting across from her.

She could be polite and offer a few tender words of comfort to her exhausted companion. Or she could allow herself time and space to vent to her tiny little heart's content in the hopes that she would eventually run out of steam and drift off to sleep. Hiro eyes drifted side to side as if weighing the two options in her head.

"I hate trees! I absolutely hate them!" Akari shouted to four winds. Yes, Hiro would let the girl vent. Let her vent, let her sleep, let her wander off the side of the mountain when she takes to sleep walking. Hiro smiled to herself. Best not to get her hopes raised.

And then, Hiro saw it.

"I mean, why would anyone every need so many trees?" Akari continued, completely ignorant

of anything going on outside of her immediate world.

Or rather, Hiro saw _them_.

"Men." she gasped.

"Men. I would prefer a few men right now!" Akari wailed over dramatically. "I would prefer a

whole group of men- even dirty peasant men- too all of these endless trees!"

"Men." was the sole reply. Akari glanced at her nursemaid, all together annoyed with Hiro's one word replies and her lack of attention to her charge. This carriage ride was making her quite irritable. And unfortunately she had no one around to take it out on, so Hiro would simply have to make do.

"What's the matter with you Hiro? Why do you keep mumbling 'men'? Are you that pressed for company? Because you do remember that I'm sitting right here, and if my singing 'Ninety-nine bottles of Sake on the wall' wasn't a desperate cry for conversation, then I don't know what is!" The carriage was silent. And she had had just about enough. She flung herself across the carriage and grabbed Hiro's collar. "Why won't you answer me Hiro?" Hiro grabbed Akari by the chin and pointed out the window.

"Men!" she said, alarm filling her voice. Akari's eyes widened in terror.

"Men!" she shrieked, her voice reaching the driver, but it was too late. The carriage was quickly overtaken as were the other two carriages. The two posted guards riding along side the carriages turned in haste to charge the assailants but to no avail. There was simply too many men and not enough guards. In a matter of seconds, the guards were thrown off of their horses and quickly disarmed.

"Bandits." Hiro whispered. She wasted no time pulling two daggers from inside of her boots, testing the feel of them in her hands, and then slipped them right back inside the boots.

"Bandits?" Akari yelled. "What do you mean bandits? What do they want?" Her eyes widened in shock as Hiro wrapped her hand around Akari's mouth blocking any sound from escaping. If she wasn't so terrified of the bandits inching closer to their carriage, she might have bitten back.

"I don't know what they want my lady, but I assume it has very little to do with sparkling conversation or giving us directions. Now, don't say a word." Akari stared back, her expression dumbfounded. Hiro shook her roughly. "Do you hear me? Not a word!"

Akari nodded hurriedly.

And as if on cue, the doors to the carriage were ripped open and arms appeared to yank the two girls out of the carriage. Judging by the shouting from the other two carriages, the same thing was happening to Akari's father and his counselors.

If Akari wasn't so busy being more terrified than she had ever been in her entire life, she would've found the situation humorous. Her father being man-handled? Now there was something she didn't see often.

She squinted as the sun hit her eyes, but as they slowly adjusted to the brightness, she wished that they hadn't. Men. Everywhere. Surrounding her. Putting their grubby hands on her. Dirty men. No. Not dirty men. Dirty _bandits_. The word made her cringe. In terror. And excitement.

This was just like out of one of her storybooks.

She glanced nervously at Hiro. If her nursemaid was at all afraid, she wasn't showing it. Her captors pawed at her face and hair, and yet face remained as stone. She was always so brave. As much as Hiro clawed at Akari's nerves, she was always so very, very brave. And Akari loved that about her dear nursemaid. She could be brave. She would be brave. Just like Hiro. And with a fresh- and somewhat shaky- resolve, Akari lifted her chin and pressed her lips.

Not a word. Just like Hiro had said.

"What do you want?" Minister Xu yelled, his voice carrying through the crowds, and as intended, everyone under the sound of his voice grew silent and still.

A man stepped forward, and Akari's eyes followed the man. The pride with which he carried himself screamed leader. He came to a stop before Akari's father, and bowed without a word at the waist. 'A gentleman thief?' Akari thought to herself.

She had read a book like that once. The hero had been a scoundrel but an honorable one. Could this man, this blue haired bandit be such a thief?

But the man raised his head and smiled arrogantly at her father, bursting out into unnecessary laughter that spread quickly among his fellow thieves, and Akari knew. He was no gentleman. He had been mocking her father!

"I repeat," Minister Xu said, fear and frustration apparent in his voice, "what do you want?" The bandit leader laughed.

"What do I want? That's a good question. What'ya want Kouji? I don't know. Maybe it's best to ask the men. Yeah, that's a good idea!" Akari's heart sank. The man was talking to himself, and so he was clearly mad. A mad thief!

She had read a book like that too. And she didn't recall it ending all too nicely for the protagonist. While the thief did get what was coming to him in the end, the protagonist did wind up having his hand cut off.

"What'ya want boys?" Kouji asked. A chorus of voices rang out.

"Money!"

"We want your money!"

"Give us all your money old man!"

"Ya see sir! My men aren't hard ta please! You got money. We want money." Kouji threw his arms about the Minister's shoulders as if speaking to an old friend and not a helpless victim. The Minister scowled at the bandit. He would have to get his coat cleaned as soon as they reached the capital now that this rough neck had put his hands all over it.

"You may have what little money we are carrying with us. Unfortunately, it isn't very much as we weren't expecting to be robbed along the way. There are very important people waiting for us in Eiyo, so we only brought what was necessary." He was lying. Kouji could tell.

"Well, if you don't have money," a voice rang out from the crowd. It took a second or two for Kouji to locate the speaker, and he withheld a frown. Toshi still had his hands on the white haired girl to keep her from running away, and Kouji didn't like the look in his eye.

'Don't do anything stupid,' he thought, willing some much needed sense into Toshi.

"Then we'll just have to take this pretty little thing!" said Toshi, grabbing Akari's chin and pulling her roughly towards him.

'Like that,'.

The floodgates were opened, and Akari couldn't help but let a few rogue tears escape from her eyes. She was no longer excited by the prospect of bandit thieves. She was terrified. And she didn't care who knew it. The bravery thing simply wasn't for everyone. And so she did the only thing she could think to do.

"Hiro!" she shouted above the crowd. And that was all it took.

Like a tightly wound coil, Hiro jumped into action ramming her body weight backwards into the man that was holding her, and she got the intended result. The man was so caught off guard by her sudden movement that he released his hold on her immediately. She was on the ground in a flash and yanked the two daggers from her boots.

Without any regard for her own safety, she flew headfirst into the crowd of men that separated her from Akari, connecting her elbows with noses and kicking their legs from underneath them. In what seemed to be a matter of seconds, she had safety retracted Akari from Toshi's hold, and flung the girl behind her.

Toshi was only momentarily dazed before his anger set in, and he charged Hiro, eager to regain his prize. Like a wild cat, she swung her arm in a wide arc, and felt the blade as it connected and cleanly sliced his cheek. The wound was hardly deep, but it would scar. That she could tell. Toshi screamed as he covered his bleeding face with his hands and snarled at the girl. Akari could only watch with breathless wonder as she cowered behind Hiro's legs.

"You will not touch her!" Hiro whispered to Toshi, and he recognized the challenge in her eyes. As much as it pained him to admit it, he knew he wouldn't be touching the girl again. But perhaps he could get to the blue haired she-demon if he moved fast. He took one step forward, his intention to strike.

"Toshi!" The bleeding man looked up. Kouji stared back, his frustration clear as crystal.

"You don't touch either of them!" Kouji called out, his voice low. And Toshi nodded dumbly. He knew better than to go against the boss. Not in front of everyone. Kouji sighed before turning back to face Minister Xu who had been watching the altercation with terror on his puffy face.

"Look, just give us what ya got, and we'll call it a day!" Xu nodded quickly, and then

Kouji gestured to his bandits. They entered each of the carriages and pulled out a decent sized pouch of money. The contents jingled, and it made their mouths begin to water. Nothing said 'Job well done' like the sound of stolen money.

Every head then turned to face Kouji, and he stood for a moment, breathing in and out as he took in the scene before him. And he held back a laugh. Who would have guessed by looking at the three carriages that robbing them would've been this heated...or entertaining. Of course he wouldn't admit it to his boys, but anything that combined stolen bags of money with pretty girls_ and _the chance to watch Toshi get what was coming to him was a beautiful thing indeed.

Toshi. Just the thought of the idiot bandit nearly put Kouji in a foul mood, but he let it pass. He was definitely going to deal with the moron later!

He glanced at the girls. The smaller of the two was still on the ground, huddled at Dagger Girl's feet. He had to admit that even as she cowered in fear, she was a sight. Big green eyes sat in what could only be described as an angel's face, framed by quite the head of white hair.

But the other girl was a picture as well. He wouldn't go as far as to say that she was as beautiful as her counterpart. She was more pretty than beautiful, but there was a strength in the hellcat that radiated, and he liked it. The daggers still sat comfortably in her hands. She clearly knew how to use them. Judging by Toshi's face, the girl definitely could hold her own. And he could respect that in a woman. The 'No Fear' look in her harsh brown eyes made her look even more beautiful. Yes, the two of them made quite the fetching pair. He smiled warmly at them. The charmer in him couldn't help it. He turned back to Minister Xu, and saluted the man.

"The bandits of Mt. Reikaku thank ya for your generous contribution. I can promise you safe passage down the mountain! Enjoy your stay in Konan!" he said, nodding to his men who immediately began to pull back, their swords still drawn and their arrows still at the ready. But they hardly looked like the ruthless bandits that had initially assaulted the carriages. Now, they simply looked like a group of schoolboys brandishing wooden swords and playing robbers in the trees.

Akari's eyes took the scene in. Her terror had all but vanished. They were dirty, unshaven, rough necks. They swung swords and lived on the mountain. They attacked passing carriages and merchants, and then walked away victorious. She couldn't help but feel...that they lived a glorious life. Just like the dashing rogues in her books.

Especially the leader. She had never heard his name, but she was sure it was something handsome and dangerous. A blush crept into her cheeks as the bandit leader in question turned to look at her and winked mischievously.

And as quickly as the bandits had entered the lives of the travelers, they were gone having dissolved like a fine mist through the trees. The group huddled by the carriages stood in silence for a moment digesting what had just occurred. And when it seemed like they had all had ample time to internalize it all, Minister Xu snapped to attention.

"Fortunately for us, it seems like most of the money was left behind." he said aloud to his party as he re-entered his carriage, lifted up the cushion that sat on his seat and revealed a hidden door underneath. The Minister removed a small key from around his neck, and upon opening the door reached his hand inside, and couldn't help but smile. Still full of gold. "Seems those fools didn't know about the compartments. Good thing too. It would've been quite dreadful if we were forced to return to Hokkan without accomplishing what we set out to do!"

He gazed at his daughter who had since regained use of her legs and was standing on her own two feet albeit right next to Hiro. "Akari, come here child." She stepped forward immediately, and was warmed to the heart to find her father stretching his arms out towards her. He had been worried for her?

'Oh father,' she thought, 'I take back every cruel thing I've ever thought or said about you!' She nearly ran forward eager for his affection, but was stopped suddenly when he held her away from him. His eyes began assessing her person as she stood there in obvious confusion.

"Did they hurt you?" he asked roughly. She shook her head. "No damage done then?" Again, she gave him a 'no'. He heaved a sigh of relief. "Good. Another piece of wonderful news. Lord Jianyu would most likely be hesitant to continue through with the marriage if he thought you were hurt in any way. No man in his right mind would willingly accept damaged goods!" He shoved her aside as he made his way to the other two carriages and made sure himself that the compartments in each of the coaches were still intact.

Akari squeezed her eyes tightly to block the tears from falling. She refused to cry in front of them all. She failed to look up when the Minister walked past her and entered his own carriage.

"So we continue to the capital. The sooner we get there, the sooner we can make the final arrangements and I can leave this dreadful country." He clapped his hands and his attendants all sprang into action. The guards resumed their posts beside the carriages. The drivers were back in their seats, reins in hand. His advisers were all seated in their respective carriages. And Hiro waited patiently beside her carriage for Akari who was presently making her way back to her coach but at a very sluggish pace.

With a momentary glance at her attendant, Akari entered the carriage and took her seat. Hiro quickly joined her, and the carriages were off once more eager to put distance between themselves and the bandits. Hiro was silent. Akari was even more silent. Her green eyes were fixed on the view outside of her window, but her gaze was unfocused.

In an effort to lessen the tension in the carriage and to rid herself of her plaguing sense of sympathy, Hiro removed her daggers and took to cleaning them. The one of them was still spotted with that Toshi's blood, and Hiro smirked. Blasted fool. He deserved every bit of what he received.

"Thank you." Hiro looked up at the sound, and found Akari watching her intently. Hiro's eyes must have read confusion because Akari pointed to the daggers still resting in her hand. "For that. Thank you."

And Hiro understood. "Don't thank me my lady. I was simply doing my job." she replied, not entirely believing the sound of her own words. "It's my duty to protect you." That seemed a reasonable enough response. Akari watched as Hiro resumed her cleaning.

"You always do a very good job at it," Akari offered after a moment of settled silence, and she cheered a silent victory cheer as a tiny but discernible smile crept ever so slowly onto Hiro's face.

"Thank you my lady." was the sole reply. And then more silence. Akari eventually returned to staring out the window. Wonder of wonders, it seemed that they had cleared the mountain, and had found their way back to the main road. Yes, the sun was now beating down on them again, but at least she had seen the last of those cursed trees. And she sighed aloud. Her sigh wasn't meant to draw attention, but it did. Hiro glanced at her riding companion, and took note of the emptiness in her countenance. The poor girl was a ghost. Hiro took a deep and steady breath and braced herself.

"My lady, would it please you to sing a few more choruses of 'Ninety-Nine bottles of Sake on the wall'?" Akari snapped to attention, and smiled suddenly, her previous train of thought completely forgotten. If there was one thing that Akari excelled at, it was brushing her concerns under the carpet.

"Where was I?"

"I believe you were at seventy-nine my lady." Akari's smile grew and it very nearly reached her eyes.

"Oh...seventy-eight bottles of sake on the wall, seventy-eight bottles of sake..."

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The bandits poured into their respective dining room eager to count the day's spoils. They emptied the pouches onto the tables and began the tedious task of counting and marking the contents. It wasn't exactly what they were expecting given the lavishness of the carriages and the obvious wealth of its inhabitants. But the men had rummaged inside the cabins and hadn't found anything else. However, the day wasn't a total loss, and the bags were of a respectable size. Yes, they had done quite nicely considering.

Kouji, however, was less than impressed. While the men gathered the treasures together to be combined and put away, he kept his eyes on Toshi. It was no secret that Toshi wasn't among the favorites at Mt. Reikaku. He was compulsively headstrong and defiant, and while those were both perhaps grounds for immediate dismissal from the gang, he was also fast and strong and good with a blade. The kind of guy you wanted at your back when the going got tough- even though he was also the kind of guy that you would never give your back to lest he stab it.

And then the man in question stood on the table, his mug of ale raised high.

"To the infamous bandits of Mt. Reikaku," he shouted arrogantly, "the greatest gang of thieves in Konan!" The men cheered along with him, slamming their mugs around and slurping back the beer like there was no tomorrow.

"And ya know how we got ta be th' greatest?" Kouji asked above the noise, and the men settled down. Toshi slowly turned to face the boss, but there was a laziness in his eyes that made Kouji want to pluck them out. "We follow a code of conduct so everybody gets what's fair. And ya know what ain't on that code a' conduct Toshi?"

Toshi shrugged. "Manhandlin' innocent women, that's what!" Kouji said, frustration evident in his voice. "Yeah, we're pretty safe up here and we ain't had ta try ta defend ourselves from Imperial soldiers, but you know why? Cuz we ain't hurtin' anybody. Yeah, we steal from them. But we don't hurt anyone. And we protect th' villages at th' base of th' mountain. When there's a battle, we fight. And," he paused for emphasis. "we don't touch their women!"

Toshi hopped off the table, and stared at Kouji. "I thought you said everybody gets what they want!"

"No," Kouji said through gritted teeth. "I said everybody gets what's fair." Hushed murmurs spread throughout the men watching the exchange. Toshi smirked, but there was something strangely unpleasant about it.

"I wonder when fairness started becoming a matter of importance in bandit gangs!" The murmurs spread again. Was Toshi questioning Kouji? Out loud? Next to Kouji, Toshi was a kid in the gang. He had only been around for a couple of years, two at the most. And he had never even talked to Genrou before. So who was he who mouth off to Kouji that way? However, Kouji was more than capable of handling upstarts. He'd been doing it for years.

"Around th' same time that respect fer authority did. You gotta problem with th' way things are done in a gang, ya got two options. Either ya leave or ya take it up with th' boss."

Toshi crossed his arms across his chest. "Well, when th' _boss_ gets back from all his travelin', I'll talk ta him about it!" Whispers arose quickly from the bandits.

"Well, until Genrou gets back, I'm in charge! Ya gotta problem, you deal with me." Kouji warned, his voice threatening-his intent as well. Toshi smiled at his leader and clapped him on the back. To an outsider, the gesture would've seemed more than amicable, an exchange between two good friends. But Kouji knew better. And so did the other bandits watching intently.

"Don't touch the women. Got it. No problem here boss!" And with that, Toshi turned and walked out of the room without so much as a glance backwards. Kouji sighed. Dissension in the ranks was never good. He just hoped that Genrou would be popping in for a visit soon. Maybe this time, he could convince the idiot to stick around for longer than a week or two.

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Akari squeezed her eyes tightly and berated herself. Somehow or another, she had read the same passage four times now, and yet, she still had no idea what she had read. Her mind was absolutely in a whole other world at the moment, and try as she might, she could draw no comfort from the words on the page. This was atypical for her as she had always been one to easily get lost and swept up in a well written story...and sometimes, even a poorly written one.

But she knew that until Hiro returned from her audience with the Minister and Jianyu, the man who was to be Akari's husband, she wouldn't be able to focus on a silly story. Even if it was one of her favorites. Just when she thought she was sure a scream was about to tear through her throat, the door opened.

Akari hopped to her feet and nearly knocked Hiro to the floor before the poor girl had time to shut the door behind her.

"What took you so long?" Akari demanded.

"I didn't know where I was going, and I couldn't find the room." Hiro bent over to remove her shoes and placed them by her bed. It was a small bed, just big enough for her. Not at all like Akari's on the opposite end of the room. Her bed was quite spacious and ornately carved with a beautiful cover and a mountain of pillows. Hiro glanced back at her own bed. It was clearly designed for a servant girl. And she wondered if the cover provided would even serve its purpose. Sometimes, she hated Akari.

"Couldn't find the room? You have the keenest sense of direction of anyone I know. You could always navigate the halls back home. Even in the dark. How could you possibly get lost here?"

Hiro pinched the bridge of her nose. "Well, here is not home. In fact, here is nowhere close to home. And unfortunately, the entire time I was walking, I only came across one other person and he was no help at all. Your betrothed certainly employs a scant staff!"

She covered her mouth, and immediately regretted her words. She was completely in the wrong speaking out of turn like that against a councilman. People had been whipped for less. "Forgive me my lady." Her words were faint. But they had barely registered with Akari. She waved her hand as if Hiro's asking for forgiveness was the most preposterous thing in existence.

"Never you mind that. Perhaps he does have a small staff. But I don't care. You'll be here with me, and you're really all I need!" Hiro heaved a sigh of relief, but that too barely registered with Akari. "Now, let's get to the important part." Akari paused as if considering her words, and her green eyes met Hiro's brown. "Did you see him?"

Hiro blinked. "Who?"

"My...Jianyu. Did you see Jianyu?" Hiro's darty eyes told her everything she needed to know. "Oh no! Tell me. Is it bad?" She swallowed hard. "Is he...hideous?" Now it was Hiro's turn to consider her words carefully.

"He is...older than you are, my lady." Akari frowned.

"Hideous old?"

"Old old...my lady." Hiro shut her eyes as Akari's cry of frustration sounded loudly, and she watched as the young woman threw herself across her bed. Typically, she would have written Akari's actions off as bordering on the over dramatic. However, she had seen the man who was to be Akari's husband. Akari had not. And if the poor girl was crying now, she had only to wait until she met the man on their wedding day.

For the first time in a very long time, Hiro did not envy the life Akari led. Perhaps Hiro was a lowly ladies maid with no family or home to speak of, but she would rather have been all those things than be bartered off to be married to a piece of decaying flesh. Had the Minister no heart at all?

Hiro recalled his concern with Akari after her brush with the bandits. He cared very little for her well being other than to be sure that his business agreement with Jianyu was not harmed. No. Hiro was quite sure that he had no heart. She looked up as Akari began to punch her pillow, and she could only imagine whose face Akari was imagining. Her father? Jianyu? That bandit Toshi? Perhaps even Hiro herself. With Akari, there was no telling.

"This is not fair!" Akari shouted. "It's Not Fair!" This time, her voice was even louder, and Hiro began to worry. Suddenly, the girl crumbled into a pathetic heap. "It's not fair." This time, her voice was so tiny that they tugged at Hiro's heart strings. She slowly made her way to where Akari was sitting, pathetically propped up against her bed, and she took a seat next to the crying girl.

Unsure of what else to do or say, Hiro placed a comforting hand on Akari's knee and patted it fondly. She felt a bit strange doing it, but it wasn't the first time she had to be the shoulder for Akari to cry on, and she was certain it wouldn't be the last. Especially after having taken a good look at Jianyu.

Suddenly, Akari threw her arms around Hiro's neck and wept into her hair. Hiro's unceasing sense of loyalty and the tiny bit of motherly instinct she had left got the better of her, and she took to rubbing Akari's back slowly. The two remained like that for what could've been thirty seconds or thirty minutes- it was hard to tell. But after a decent span of time passed, Akari's sobs had been reduced to little hiccups which eventually gave way to gentle breathing.

She finally pulled her face from the crook of Hiro's neck and wiped her eyes with her sleeve. While Akari was every bit a woman of twenty-one, there were occasions when she still looked like a child to Hiro. And now was one of those times. Hiro almost laughed as her mind took that route. She was just a bit older than Akari. Twenty-five wasn't the end of the world. Yet, here she was rubbing Akari's back just like a mother would do and thinking things like 'She still looks like a child'. And Hiro sighed. 'Quite the mother hen I've turned out to be!'

Akari stood up on wobbly legs, and when she was sure she wouldn't fall flat on her face, she stepped over the the mirror in her room, took a seat before it and began brushing her long white hair. As beautiful as it was, she would graciously await the day when she could chop it all off.

As was a custom in her country, a young woman could not cut her hair until after she was married, and only with the permission of her husband. However, as Jianyu was from Konan and not of Hokkan, she didn't anticipate there being any argument from him. If she was any sort of brave, she would take a pair of scissors to her hair right then and there, and snicker at her father's horrified expression.

However, she was not any sort of brave. Not the kind that amounted to anything anyways.

Brave.

Like those bandits?

"Hiro," she said calmly. Hiro glanced up. "What did you think about those bandits?" She kept her eyes on Hiro so as to try and snuff out any sort of reaction, but as was typically Hiro, there was none. At least, none that she could detect.

"I thought they were barbaric to say the least. They are completely lacking in any sort of refinement or moral character. It's hard to imagine what sort of person would spend their days stealing money from people and feeling justified in doing so. It's outrageous!" Akari nodded her head as if she was hearing and agreeing with every word, and yet, Hiro knew the girl well enough to know when there was something brewing underneath the surface.

"And what did you think of their faces?" Akari asked, all together too innocently.

"I sliced one of them." was the reply, and Akari laughed.

"Be serious Hiro!"

"I am. I _seriously_ sliced one of them." Hiro said with an accomplished smirk.

"I think they had handsome faces." Akari said pulling her hair up and twisting it this way and that in the mirror. Hiro watched curiously as Akari carefully removed one of her cold weather hats, set it atop her head, and began the tedious task of stuffing all of her hair up inside the hat. "Yes, I think their faces were very handsome. Worn and gruff and scarred and handsome. Especially the leader."

"Kouji." Akari's head snapped up.

"How do you know his name?"

Hiro shrugged. "I heard the man that was holding me say it to another bandit."

Akari smiled. "Kouji," she said, testing the feel of the name on her tongue. "Kouji. I even like the way their names sound." When she had succeeded stuffing all of her hair inside her hat, she played with her bangs which usually lay to the side and straightened them out so they were covering her eyes. "They live grand lives, don't you think?"

"Hardly." Hiro eventually gave up trying to figure out the workings of Akari's mind, and crashed into her bed, much more interested in drifting off to sleep than hearing Akari rant and rave about handsome bandit names.

"Oh, but they do. They don't answer to anyone. They don't _have _to do anything. They simply do what they want whenever they want. And nobody says a word to them. They can wear whatever they like, and I'm sure they're always dressed comfortably. They can wear their hair long or short or up or down. However they choose." Hiro rolled her eyes. "And it must be so exciting to spend all your time running through the trees and brandishing daggers and knowing that no one can say a thing to you. I would love to spend my day running through the trees!"

"You hate trees." Hiro replied tossing the pillow over her head in a sorry attempt to drown out the noise.

"I do not hate trees!" Akari cried as if the suggestion itself were appalling.

"The entire way up and down that mountain, you complained about trees. In fact, if I recall correctly, your exact words were 'Why would anyone ever need all these trees'. Now if that doesn't communicate hatred of nature, then I don't know what does."

"The point Hiro," Akari said with a roll of her eyes as she plopped herself down on the bed next to her nursemaid, "is that they lead grand lives. The sort I read about it my books. The sort of life I never could have imagined." She took a breath. "Until now!" Hiro's eyes shot open, and she pulled the pillow away from her face slowly.

"Until now?" she asked, but more afraid of the answer than she would've cared to admit. Akari smiled widely and huddled over Hiro's prostrate form, her mouth uncomfortably close to Hiro's ear.

"I'm going to become a bandit!" Hiro sat up with a start and hopped out of her bed, knocking Akari over in the process. She slipped her shoes on haphazardly, and made her way towards the door. The second Akari realized what was going on, she was off the bed and across the room in a heartbeat, and without a word, threw her frame across the width of the door blocking Hiro's only way of escape.

"What are you doing?" Akari asked warily.

"I'm going to see your father." Hiro moved to the left. Akari followed her.

"What for?" Hiro moved to the right, and once again, Akari mirrored her movements.

"To tell him to cancel this wedding!" Akari's eyes lit up.

"Really?"

"Yes. On account of his daughter going insane and talking about running off to join a group of cutthroat mountain bandits!"

"No! Hiro, you can't! I order you not to!" Hiro sighed and returned to her bed, her head in her hands. Akari stopped herself from smiling. If she knew Hiro, she knew that she was far from giving up.

"Why would you possibly entertain this ridiculous idea? Run away and live with bandits!" Hiro grunted, the notion sounding silly as she spoke the words aloud.

"It's the perfect idea actually. My father would never look for me on that mountain. Why would he? He would never in a million years suspect me of running away from him to join the group of bandits that robbed us. It's the last thing he would think of. And that makes it perfect!"

Hiro sighed. "Akari, I understand that you're upset about your marriage to Jianyu, but please understand. This is not an option for you. These are thieves. Bandits. Possibly even murderers and rapists. You walk up there alone, and you might as well throw up a white flag and paint a target on your forehead." Suddenly, Akari plopped down at Hiro's feet, her forehead scrunched in deep thought.

"You're right Hiro." The nursemaid stared at the young girl at her feet curiously. If she knew Akari, she knew she was far from admitting defeat. "If I go up there, I'm as good as dead. If...I go alone!" Hiro's eyebrows raised in confusion. What in the world was this lunatic going on about? "If I go alone, I will be devoured by the ravenous mountain bandit wolves. But...if I go...with..._someone_, then this may all work out beautifully!"

Hiro's eyes widened. And she was up again, her goal to reach the door this time. But Akari was well aware of her intentions, and was two steps ahead. In a feat of dexterity that Hiro did not see coming, Akari threw herself across the room and tackled the back of Hiro's legs causing both girls to hit the ground hard. Hiro turned in quick anger and attempted to pry Akari's fingers off of her legs, but to no avail. The girl had an iron grip.

"Go with me Hiro!"

"No!"

"But I order you to go with me!"

"I said no!"

"Please Hiro!"

"Fine! I'll go!"

"Really?"

"No."

"Isn't there anything I can say to change your mind?"

"Nothing that I can think of."

"I'll pay you a year's salary to go with me!" Silence. Hiro leered at the girl wrapped around her legs, but said nothing, and Akari took this as permission to proceed. And proceed she did. "If you go with me to Mt. Reikaku, I will pay you what you earn in a year's time." Akari very carefully began to loosen her hold on Hiro's ankles. "But...if you don't go, you know what will happen."

Hiro cast her eyes to the floor. She did indeed know what would happen. "My father will have you punished for letting me escape despite how hard you tried to keep me here, and then he will discontinue your services with him. You will be without any means of acquiring an income for yourself. You will have No Money!" No money? The world suddenly seemed a lot smaller to Hiro when she imagined it with no money.

"You'll be desolate," Akari continued. She had Hiro's undivided attention now. Best to exploit that. "No place to live, no roof over your head." Hiro swallowed. "You'll likely begin to starve. And then you'll be forced to swallow your own fingers!" Hiro blinked as if waking from a dream and stared at Akari.

"Forced to swallow my own fingers? Where do you come up with this stuff?" she demanded, the spell broken.

"I read it in a book." was her reply. Hiro rose to her feet, and was followed by Akari. Fortunately, Akari was kind enough to avoid slamming her body into Hiro's legs again. And instead opted to take her hands in her own. She looked at Hiro, her eyes pleading and troubled.

"Please Hiro." Her voice was small. Hiro hated small voices. "I can't do this without you. But I have no choice. I can't marry Jianyu." Her voice was dangerously close to breaking once again. "I just can't. Not when there's so much to do and see. And I've never done or seen any of it. I just want to...live...a little. Before my time has passed. This is a once in a lifetime opportunity." She tightened her hold on Hiro, and kissed her hands. "But I can't do it without you. Please."

Hiro squirmed underneath Akari's intense stare, and she desperately tried to hold on to her crumbling resolve. Her shoulders dropped in defeated resignation, and Akari screamed for joy as she threw her arms around Hiro's neck and kissed her cheeks and nose and forehead repeatedly. And then, without a moment's hesitation, Akari was back at her mirror checking her hair and tucking it back inside the hat.

"Do you really believe that the bandits will just let two girls wander in off of the streets and join their gang?" Hiro asked, pleading for Akari to hear the reason in her words and reconsider. But the girl was too far gone.

"Of course not. Now, go fetch us suitable clothing. We'll need to be disguised." she answered, using dirt from a nearby potted plant to dirty her face up a bit. Hiro very nearly ran for Minister Xu again. Akari was smearing dirt of her face. Little miss princess Akari who wouldn't be caught dead in mismatched clothing or without her make up was smearing filthy dirt on her face, disguising herself as a man and running off to play fake mountain bandits with real mountain bandits.

And apparently, Hiro was doing it too. Why did these sorts of things always have to happen to her?

Hiro sighed before walking out of the room, and shutting the door behind her. Now, where would one find piles of unused men's clothing at this time of night?

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**So what did you think? If you're seething because the story description read "Tasuki/Chichiri" and you've yet to see them, take a moment and collect yourself. They're coming soon. It's just gonna take a bit for our girls to figure things out and for our story to really take off. So if you really like what you've read, hit that lil ol' review button down below and let me know. ****Nothing gets an author to update faster than reviews. And really great reviews, well, they may just get me to upload the next FEW chapters that I already have written. Now, I know what you're thinking. 'Quit writing so that I can go review'. Well, I won't keep you. ;)**

**-V.**


	2. Chapter 2

**Flights of Fancy**

**Disclaimer: The characters from Fushigi Yuugi are the creations and property of Yuu Watase and related enterprises. However, Akari, Hiro and any of the other original characters are products of my overly active imagination, and my compulsive need to see to it that everyone winds up happy. Or at least some version of happy. **

**Rating: PG-13 just to be safe. The violence isn't horrific, but it is there. The humor isn't crude, and the language isn't blush-worthy. However, it isn't a happy-go-lucky read either. I suppose the best adventures aren't. **

**Timeline/Spoiler: I've set it after the first two OVAs, but before the third. I don't know if the third will even exist in this story. We could easily say a year has passed since the end of the second OVA. If you haven't seen them, you won't flounder helplessly during the reading of this, but I will make references to different things that occurred in them. So it may help your reading if you take a moment to familiarize yourself with them. **

**Author's Note: THANK YOU TO OCTOTHORPE AND AGRANDMALFUNCTION FOR BEING MY FIRST TWO REVIEWERS! You both had such great things to say, and it although I had decided to hold on uploading chapter two, I just couldn't help myself. You two are AWESOME! And so chapter two is dedicated to the two of them! **

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Chapter Two

Kouji rubbed his stomach as he inhaled the early morning air. The breaking morning, the few precious seconds right before the sun would rise in the sky, was Kouji's favorite part of the day. The air was crisp, cool and fresh. It seemed magical and powerful as if it was seeping into your lungs and ridding it of all its impurities. He stretched his arms high above his head and heard a satisfying pop or two in his back. The mess with Toshi was still fresh in his mind, but even that was forced to take second place when standing witness to this glorious morning. The sky was still a misty blue as the fog slowly began to rise and dissipate. The sounds of the mountain were a faint but precious music to his ears. Yes. This was going to be a fine day. He could feel it in his bones.

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The soldiers standing guard at the main entrance of the city's gate took little notice of the men and women that were passing through the enormous doors as they made their ways out of the capital. Some of them were merchants. Most of them were farmers heading out to tend to their crops. Young boys. Older men. And so it was no surprise that on that particularly early morning, the guards failed to take notice of two, rather awkward, young men who slipped out underneath their noses and headed up one of the many roads leading out of the capital. The two of them walked silently. But soon the road on which they traveled grew more and more empty until the two travelers were the only ones on that road. The road leading away from the capital. The road leading towards Mt. Reikaku.

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The smaller of the two figures turned around and glanced down the road behind them, the road back to Eiyo. The road was empty, devoid of fellow travelers, merchants, farmers and best of all, guards. The figure then turned and stared at the road ahead of them. Looming in the distance was a sight to behold.

"Mt. Reikaku." the smaller of the two figures said before sneaking a sideways glance to their walking companion. "Hiro?"

"Yes?" was the terse reply. Akari waited a long moment, before turning to Hiro- and her smile grew wide.

"We made it!" she suddenly shouted as she threw her arms around Hiro's neck. And she was in such a glorious mood that she barely took any notice of Hiro growling and pushing Akari off of her. "We did it! Can you believe it? We just strolled right out of the capital, and no one tried to stop us. It's so wonderful and so exciting and so...wonderful!" She looked to Hiro, but scowled when she received no response.

"What's the matter with you? We can talk now. You said not to talk when we were around the others, but we haven't seen another person in quite some time. You can talk now!"

Hiro kept her eyes on the road ahead. "I don't feel much like talking now." Akari frowned, her good mood temporarily dampened. But she shook off her frown. No sense in ruining her fabulous adventure because Hiro was a killjoy.

"I do like your eye patch Hiro." she said, gesturing to Hiro's face, and Hiro blushed, suddenly a bit self-conscious of it. "I think it really completes your disguise." She surveyed Hiro's clothing once again, and smiled. Akari had no idea where the girl had managed to procure such fabulous male clothing, but she was giving credit where credit was due. While they were both forced to wear boys' boots as their own feet were much to small to fit into mens' shoes, they still looked convincing. Hiro looked as though she had walked up and down mountains and trudged through swamps in those shoes. Her pants were sturdy and of a bland brown, her shirts and vests of a similar design.

Her shoulder length blue hair which was usually in a single braid was wrapped tightly underneath a cap, and the eye-patch completed the ensemble very nicely. At the very forceful request of Akari, Hiro eventually conceded and dirtied her hands and face up a bit. They had to look and smell the part of bandits after all. Akari smiled. If she had never known Hiro, then she could've easily mistaken her for a man.

Or at least a boy. Hiro soft feminine features were always tuned down a bit by her stoic expressions.

'At least she's got the bandit scowl thing down to an art!' Akari thought to herself, much too afraid to say it out loud. "What about me? What do you think of my outfit?" Hiro couldn't help but take a look at Akari, and as much as she hated to admit it, the girl did look like quite a convincing man. Or boy. But definitely not female, and that was the desired result. Just like Hiro, Akari was wearing a worn but comfortable pair of boots that reached to her knees. She had tucked both pairs of pants into the boots, and while the pants weren't the most comfortable in the world- nor the most fashionable- they were clearly tailored for men. Now, as was the case with Hiro, it was the top half of the body that took the most work. The two of them had bound their chest as best they could, and wore layers upon layers. Yes, they were scorching in the heat, but thankfully, they had both reached the base of the mountain, and the trees provided ample cover and glorious shade.

Unlike Hiro however, Akari, ever the fashion queen, did attempt to add a bit of flare to her outfit. And where Hiro completed her outfit with a suitable riding cape and hood, Akari threw a wide mens' belt around her waist loosely so it hung off the side and chose to wear the mens' jacket with wide shoulders. Her hair was all tucked up inside the cap, and her eyes were nearly covered by her long bangs. All in all, the outfit was very convincing. Hiro had even allowed her the use of one of her spare daggers to hang on her belt. Of course, if an occasion called for Akari to actually wield the dagger, she would be completely ineffective and rather counterproductive. But the general hope was that she would never need to use it, and that it gave her disguise a much needed edge. And it certainly did. On the other hand, Hiro's four daggers, two concealed inside of her boots and two hanging on her belt, were not just for a flashy show. She envied Akari's naivete in thinking that they would encounter little if any trouble on their trek. Hiro unfortunately knew better. The world had taught her to expect such things.

And now that they had reached Mt. Reikaku, Hiro kept her hands at the ready, poised at her side. She would not be caught off guard. She did take comfort in the fact that if they were surrounded by a pack of bloodthirsty bandits, the last thing the men would find would be two wandering ladies. No, the mountain men would find two boys, dressed the same as they.

Akari's voice dragged her out of her train of thought. "Hiro, you never answered me. What do you think about my outfit?"

"I think you look like a very convincing man, my lady. Now, I think it would suit our purposes if we ceased talking about our clothing as if they were disguises, and carried ourselves as men." She glanced through the trees. No sign of the bandits. "From this point on, you are?"

"Fa Jin." Akari answered dutifully, her voice low.

"And I am?"

"Xian Shang."

"And we hail from?"

"Hokkan where we left our gang to venture all the way here to join the Mt. Reikaku bandits that we've heard so much about."

"Good." The two fell silent. They were trekking further and further up the mountain, and had been for quite some time- and still they had seen no sign of...anyone. And Hiro didn't like it one bit. The woods were far too quiet, the trees far too still. There was an uncomfortable calm in the air that was almost suffocating, and even the usually absent minded Akari picked up on it. However, she could only stand awkward silences for so long.

"Maybe we took the wrong road up the mountain. Or maybe the men don't even venture out this early. The sun has only been up for two or three hours." Akari tried to keep her voice low, but there was a tremble in it that she couldn't suppress.

Hiro shook her head. "No. We definitely took the right road."

"How can you tell?" Akari asked as she kept her eyes fixed on the road ahead of her. Her stomach lurched when Hiro stopped dead in her tracks.

"They're here!" Hiro whispered. With lightning speed, she removed her daggers and set them firmly in her hand. Akari followed her example, but with less grace, and she had barely set her hand to the hilt of her dagger when seven or eight men jumped out from the trees. They had moved so fast that she could barely tell where they had come from, but that was hardly important now. The fact was that they had arrived, and she stopped the scream that threatened to escape her mouth. This was no game. This was the real thing. It was time to leave Akari behind. She was Jin. She was a bandit now. It was time to play the part.

"Drop your weapons!" one of the men called out.

"Drop yours!" Akari blurted out, her adrenaline getting the best of her. Hiro rolled her eyes, and looked at Akari. Clearly, they were off to a fantastic start. The bandit closest to Akari sneered at her.

"Do ya know where you are boy?" Her heart leapt in her chest despite her fear. He had called her 'boy'. Their disguises were working!

"You two must be pretty lost because you're on Mt. Reikaku now, an' no one wanders up Mt. Reikaku unless they're lost...or looking fer trouble!" another bandit said, his sword glinting in the sunlight.

"We're not lost." Hiro said, her voice as low and gruff as she could manage. "And we aren't looking for trouble. We're looking for the bandits of Mt. Reikaku." The men laughed.

"And what's your business with them?" the first man asked as he circled Hiro and Akari.

"We're here to join their gang." Akari said, squaring her shoulders and setting her feet apart the way the other men were doing. They all laughed again. She was starting to get quite bothered by their incessant need to break out into hysterical giggles at everything she and Hiro said.

"Really?" the giggler asked, his voice dripping with sarcasm.

"Yes." was Hiro's short reply. One of the other bandits, one who had yet to speak up, scoffed aloud and put his sword up. Clearly these boys posed no threat. His morning was ruined.

"Just send them back down th' mountain. Their mommies are probably wondering where they

ran off. And we have more important things to worry about!"

"Our mommies quit worrying about us a long time ago," Akari said, crossing her arms as if the fact that she was talking to ruthless thieves was no big deal at all. She only hoped that the fact that her heart was slamming violently inside of her chest wouldn't interfere.

"They should be plenty worried right about now!" he replied, taking a threatening step towards Hiro, but she stood her ground unflinchingly. "Like I said, send them back. Just a couple a brats looking fer some fun. You ain't gonna find fun here! So be on your way!" He shoved Akari backwards into Hiro. And Akari nearly cried out. Not out of fear. But out of anger. Was this really it? Were they really going to have to return to Konan just like that? The greatest adventure of her life, and it was already over?

The first bandit that had spoken stepped forward, his expression hard. "Maybe we shouldn't send them back!" Every present set of eyes snapped to his attention. "Who knows. Maybe these two got what it takes. Maybe they don't. But it really isn't for us ta decide. We'll leave that up ta Kouji." And he laughed. "At th' very least, they may be able ta provide us with a little entertainment. A couple a weepin' bandit wanna-bees. Maybe th' morning won't be such a waste aftah all!" He smirked at Hiro and Akari, both of which did their utmost best to maintain his gaze- as unpleasant as it was. "Ya came lookin' for th' bandits of Mt. Reikaku?" He turned around and began the long walk up the road towards the top of the mountain. "Well, ya found em'!"

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Akari's eyes widened in pure and unbridled amazement. In all her wildest dreams, in all of her favorite books, she could never have imagined or read such a fantastic vision as was the mountain bandits' fortress. She had imagined their home to be ragged and decaying with tents flapping in the wind and pathetic fires roasting pathetic rabbits.

But not this. Not this stone village. Not this architectural wonder hidden high up on a mountain and deep in the woods. It was certainly a sight to behold. And she wanted to drink it all in.

They entered the stronghold and her eyes took in everything. The bandits, their faces, and the ways they walked. She could hear laughter, roaring laughter, and shouting above the crowd. Were the men getting into drunken brawls this early in the morning? Oh, she certainly hoped so. She had never seen a drunken brawl before. Of course, she had read about them, and they seemed like fascinating things. And if she played her cards right, she'd be bunking in her own bandit bedroom before the night was out. Then she would have plenty of opportunities to witness things like drunken brawls and sword fights and other wonderful things. Until then, she needed to be aware and on her toes. After all, she and Hiro weren't out of the woods yet.

Come to think of it, they were deep, deep in the woods.

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Hiro's eyes darted to the left, the right, the left and the right again. She made mental notes of the buildings they passed, any and all unusual tree and rock formations, and when they began navigating through the inside of one of the monstrous buildings, she began noting the turns that they made, the tapestries on the wall, and how many stairs were on each staircase. Anything that would be of use to her and Akari if and when they would have to make a run for it. And she knew that eventually, they would have to.

Or at least, she would have to.

She glanced for a moment at her companion, and resisted the urge to shove the idiot girl. Who did she think she was traipsing around all starry eyed as if they weren't in the utmost danger at that moment? But of course she could afford drool in fascination when she knew she had Hiro to do all the hard work. Hiro scowled.

Yes. If the time came and she was forced to escape the fortress, she would do it alone if she had to. In fact, she very well may prefer to be alone when the time came. She abandoned her train of thought when they approached a large of set of closed doors at the end of the hallway. They had been maneuvering through never ending hallways for a good ten or fifteen minutes now, and she kept replaying the route over and over in her head. But all of that was gone and out of her mind when their ruthless tour guide smirked at the two of them and then knocked on the door.

They all stood silent for a moment, and Hiro was hard pressed to detect any sort of noises from within the room. Perhaps no one was home? And then...

"Whose there?" a voice called out.

"It's Hotaka boss. We brought you a little something. Something we found on our rounds this morning." He glanced at the girls...or rather, the guys. "I think you're gonna like it!" The other two bandits present started laughing, and Akari balled up her fists. What was it with these bandits and their infuriating need to laugh at everything? What in the world was so hilarious?

"A little something? Hmm. What'ya think Kouji? Well, I really don't know!" Both Hiro and Akari's eyes widened as the voice reached their eyes with its familiar twang. "Hotaka said I'd like it! Then bring it in! Sure Hotaka, bring it in!" And with that, the doors were opened and the girls were shoved in roughly.

While Hiro's eyes ventured throughout the large room planning out various escape routes through the windows and across the visible rooftops, Akari was staring at Kouji. He still looked the same...and yet he looked different. Perhaps it was the fact that she was no longer a sniveling young woman in his presence, but a rather determined young bandit man-boy. Kouji stared at the two strangers with an obvious confusion written all over his face. "I don't get it." was all he offered as he scratched his head.

Hotaka stepped forward dragging Hiro and Akari behind him. "We found them wanderin' in the woods. They said they was lookin' for us and wanted ta join the gang. I thought you'd wanna meet em'." The girls watched Kouji as his stare shifted from Hotaka back to them, and he stepped forward, venturing uncomfortably close. He stared the two down as if appraising a head of cattle or a polished sword. And when he had satisfied that strange compulsion, he took a step back and crossed his arms. He was less than impressed with the short and scrawny figures standing before him although he had to admit that there was something strangely familiar about the intensity present in the taller one's eyes. He supposed that he could at least hear them out before he sent them packing.

"So tell me. What makes ya think that you can walk up on our mountain and ask ta be a part'a our gang?"

"We've traveled a long way to get here," Akari said, straining to make her voice sound as husky as she wanted to feel.

"How long?" Was he interested? Was he taking the bait?

"From Hokkan," Hiro replied. "Touran, to be exact." His eyebrows raised in surprise. At least they had succeeded in getting his attention.

"That's a pretty long walk," he said sarcastically. "And all this way fer what?"

"We heard stories back home about the Mt. Reikaku bandits," Hiro started.

"About how they're the greatest gang of thieves ever. And the bravest," Akari added. Kouji puffed up his chest like a prize rooster.

"And so we left our gang, stowed away on a ship bound for Konan and here we are," said Hiro with a nod. The bandit leader stroked his chin as if in deep thought, but the whole idea of his being in deep thought seemed strange and somewhat humorous, even to the two girls.

"And so what part a' that story is supposed ta convince me to let you kids stick around and join th' gang?" Akari had to admit that now they had told their 'story', it wasn't as impressive as she had originally thought. In fact, if she thought long and hard about it, she realized there was nothing entirely stirring about them that would make the bandits want to invite them into the gang. She could feel panic begin to take form in the pit of her stomach.

"We're fast. And we can fight," Hiro proposed, and Akari swallowed, wondering if now would be the most appropriate time to tell Hiro that she had never even climbed a tree much less held a sword in combat. Perhaps that bit of news was better saved for a different time. "And," Hiro started. Akari held her breath. What other sort of empty promises was Hiro prepared to make in order to secure them a place amongst the thieves. They could fly? Reverse time? Transform into wolverines?

"We can make it worth your while." Hiro pulled a pouch from her belt and waved it in front of Kouji's face. The jingle and rattle coming from within the bag was unmistakable, and while Kouji's mouth began to water, Akari's eyes widened in shock. That was Hiro's money, the money given to her by Akari as payment for accompanying her on this wild goose chase of an adventure. It was enough to support Hiro for a year. And here she was handing it over to the bandits. It simply did not make sense.

"And uh, what is that?" Kouji asked, trying to contain his girlish elation.

"We _relieved _a couple of merchants of it on the way here," Hiro said with a casual shrug as if it was something she did all the time. "They had more than enough to go around. So we figured we would...lighten their load." Kouji stared at Hiro as if trying to detect the truth- or perhaps the lack of truth. And then his eyes softened.

"What happened ta your eye?" he asked, and Akari's heart began thumping like wild. They had never discussed what the story behind the patch was. Among all of their talk, they had forgotten it completely. How could they have been so careless!

"Some thieves in a rival gang back in Hokkan _relieved_ me of it a couple'a years back." she said attempting a subtle accent without a hint of panic in her voice. "Guess they figured they would lighten _my_ load." Her voice was full of conviction, and Kouji almost felt sorry for the kid.

"Look, maybe you kids are good fighters and maybe you did hike all th' way here just ta join th' gang. But," he said, running a hand through his untamed blue hair. "I don't think this is th' right place fer ya. For a couple'a kids. Ya know?"

"No, we don't know!" Akari added, sticking her chin out like she had seen her father do so many times before.

"What he means," a voice called out from behind them, and all three of them turned their eyes to the speaker. "is that you two don't have what it takes ta make it up here." And for the first time since arriving, Hiro felt the stirrings of fear settle into her throat. There was no mistaking that build, that green hair, that face...that scar. And Hiro swallowed hard.

Toshi. The mouthy bandit from the mountain. The one whose face Hiro had cut. Akari watched as Toshi took his place next to Kouji, and while she wasn't as quick to take notice of things around her as Hiro was, she did notice the sense of dislike between Toshi and Kouji. Or at least Kouji's dislike of Toshi. He narrowed his eyes at the bandit and exhaled loudly. Akari wasn't the foremost expert on men, but she understood people enough to recognize a stiffness between the two men. And she smirked to herself. Could she use this to her advantage? Toshi leaned up against the table and crossed his arms as if he belonged there, and judging by the glare that Kouji was sending him at the moment, he clearly didn't.

"I had heard some'a the guys sayin' they brought back a couple'a punk kids who wanted to play mountain bandits!" He laughed, and stared the two boys down. "But this must be a joke."

"No one here is laughin'." Hiro said as she stared the cretin down.

"Look at ya. Scrawny and half-starved. I got a baby sister who could make a better bandit than you two!"

Akari smiled. "She must be the one who cut your face up." Toshi growled and was out of his seat in a flash ready to swing at her, but she stood her ground. She had to appear to be brimming with bravery. Never mind that inside, she was quaking with fear. Luckily, fate intervened- or rather, Kouji intervened. And the smirk on his face was more than enough to get Toshi's blood boiling.

"Get outta here Toshi. I'll deal with these two." And then he smiled. "Go change your bandage or somethin'!" Akari and Hiro both resisted the urge to giggle at the look of defeat etched on Toshi's face. And he left the room without another word. Suddenly, much to the girls' surprise, Kouji began laughing hysterically, and when the laughter passed and he was wiping joyous tears from his eyes, he smiled at the girls.

"All right! Call me crazy, but I gotta feelin' about you two. Maybe you can make it up here. Maybe you can't. But I'm givin' you boys th' OK." Both Hiro and Akari's heads popped up at his announcement, and Akari choked back an ecstatic laugh. Instead, the girls resigned instead to offer grateful nods. "Now, I ain't baby-sittin' you two, but I will warn ya ta keep your distance where Toshi is concerned."

"You can offer him the same warning," Hiro muttered under her breath, but Kouji caught it and laughed aloud.

"You two got spunk, I can tell ya that. Not too many guys around here care ta cross Toshi. And spunk is what'll keep you both alive! Juan is gonna show you ta your quarters. We gotta room fer two that's jus' big enough for you both." They nodded their thanks again. "Now, you ain't boardin' fer free. All of us here carry our own weight and contribute to th' pot. You start suckin' up resources without givin' any back and you're outta here!"

"Yeah boss," Akari said.

"Yes sir," offered Hiro. Kouji laughed again. He couldn't put his finger on it, but there was something pleasantly amusing about these two kids. Perhaps it was their striking resemblance to him and Genrou, always trailing after the old boss, talking a big talk and never looking like they would amount to much. But if past events were any sort of an indication of future performance, then maybe these two mouthy upstarts could grow up into...something great. He walked past them and exited the room quietly. Hiro and Akari blinked once, twice, as they stared at the doorway where he had just passed out of. And then they looked at each other. A good ten seconds passed by as they stood their ground, unsure of what else they could do. And then, quite suddenly, Kouji's head appeared as he peered inside the room. When his eyes met theirs, he smirked.

"You two comin' or you plannin' on sleepin' in here?" The two girls snapped to attention before jogging to meet him.

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Minister Xu slammed his quill onto the table very nearly spilling the ink jar. He was hopelessly distracted and was finding it hard to rectify the situation. But then again, how could he be expected to get any sort of work after the sort of days that he had had. First, that blasted trip on that blasted ship across that blasted sea for four blasted days. And then, rigorous riding in a semi-comfortable coach for hours upon hours in the most unbearable heat he was quite sure that he had ever had the misfortune of sitting under. And oh yes, the humiliating incident with those disgusting mountain bandits.

He had done a substantial bit of railing to the necessary authorities once they had reached the capital, but the fools seemed accustomed to hearing about robberies on that particular mountain. But the idiot captain of the guard was very quick to defend the thieving scoundrels by pointing out that they made it a habit of only stealing from the wealthy and never hurting their victims. And he said this in such a way that indicated that he actually assumed that menial bit of information would be enough to assuage the Minister's abhorrence.

Blundering fool. As if the Minister cared at all whether or not the bandits had fought in wars to protect Konan, or did their part to protect the villages at the base of the mountain. If he were back in Hokkan, he would see it to that the entire mountain was set ablaze and razed to the ground. Sometimes, the only appropriate way to catch a rat was to smoke it out. And if it could work for rodents, then it would certainly work for bandit scum.

He stroked his beard and paced around his temporary living quarters until he stopped to gaze out of his window. He sniffed the air and muttered a curse. The air was cool and fresh and empty. It smelled like a field. Or a disgusting forest. Not like Hokkan. Yes, there were traces of food and fire in the air, but it was buried underneath the smell of trees.

Not like Hokkan at all. The capital city in his country smelled of carved wood and stone and the sweat of laborers and the fires of industry. It smelled of progress. It smelled of money being earned and spent. A man could really breathe there. Xu grunted and crossed his arms, looking and feeling rather like a petulant child. The sooner they completed their mission, the sooner he would be rid of this wretched country and could return to his own. And miracle of miracle, he would be returning with one less person.

The thought of Akari's marriage to Jianyu brought a bothersome smile to his lips. If there was one thing she would do right in this lifetime, it was to marry well and earn a tidy bride-price. And Jianyu's bride-price had been a pretty thing. Of course Xu's original intent for his only child was for her to marry a Hokkan nobleman. But all of the men that had approached Xu to inquire after Akari were horribly inadequate and their offered bride-prices were offensive.

Then came Jianyu all the way from Imperial Konan on matters of state at the request of his Dowager Empress to meet with members of Hokkan's court. Relations between the two countries was exceedingly healthy and productive, especially when compared to the relations between Konan and the Kutou empire. But the fault lay entirely with Kutou's late emperor.

As the story was told to Xu, Konan's emperor had tried his level best to avoid war with his neighboring country, but alas, to no avail. And if Xu could remember correctly, the emperor had died in battle against the armies of Kutou. Xu almost laughed aloud. What a feeble-minded and ignorant fool he was. What sort of an emperor puts himself in harm's way for the sake of his country's citizens? An asinine boy-king no doubt. If that child emperor parading around in his father's imperial robes had had any sense at all, he would've left the fighting to the dispensable soldiers. That's what they were there for after all. But Xu was far too concerned with his own affairs to waste time and energy thinking about imprudent rulers. Due to the tragedy that occurred between Konan and Kutou, Konan was doing its level best to maintain peace with Hokkan and Sairyo. And so entered Jianyu.

He came to Touran to discuss various treaties and to visit with Hokkan's illustrious ruler in order to relay the Empress's good will. When it came to the Emperor's attention that the emissary from Konan was in want of a young wife in his old age to grant him strong sons, he suggested Jianyu take his pick from the fortunate daughters of Hokkan. And at the recommendation of a number of the other councilmen, none of which were cursed with miserable daughters, Minister Xu dragged Akari from the library where she had spent most of her life and brought her before the Emperor. And when she had received the nod of approval (much to her father's amazement), the necessary arrangements were made.

Jianyu made his bride-price offer, and Xu readily accepted. Not only was the bride-price suitable, but the prospect of Akari settling in Konan and becoming a further measure of peace between the two nations was all but a dream come true. And so now, all that was left to you was to tend to the actual ceremony that was to take place in four days time, and then he could be rid of the girl. And Xu raised his fists, much like he had on countless nights before, and cursed his late wife for bearing him a daughter instead of a son. A son could have followed his footsteps and become a member of the Imperial Court. A son could have secured a good wife and made a profitable match for their family. A son could have brought the family honor.

But of course, as the gods saw fit, he was vexed with a girl. Well, at least now she was of some use to him. And he had thanked Genbu for all of his blessed mercy in seeing that Akari was not harmed by those bandits on the mountains. If she had been, Xu's hopes of securing her marriage to Jianyu would've been destroyed.

Wonder of wonders. The thorn in his side that was his daughter had actually turned out to be a profitable little blessing.

Minister Xu looked up when one of his attendants entered his quarters, and he immediately noticed the man's flustered nerves.

"What is it? And be quick. I'm about to retire for the evening." The man stuttered nervously for a moment before collecting himself.

"It's...your daughter Minister." Xu rolled his eyes.

"What has that girl done this time?" he asked, as if trouble making was a part of her daily routine.

"She's gone sir." And the attendant visibly flinched when Xu spun around on his heels and nearly charged the man.

"What do you mean gone?"

"She's not in her room sir."

Xu thought for a moment before taking a deep breath. "Check the library. She's probably there reading." After all, she was always holed up in some corner of the library back in Hokkan. She had undoubtedly sniffed her way to the library in Konan doing what she did best. But the attendant shook his head.

"I'm sorry sir, but we've searched the library. We've searched everywhere in the estate. She's not on the grounds sir." Xu grimaced.

"Bring Hiro to me. She will know where Akari is. It's her job to know where she is." The attendant cast his beady eyes to the floor.

"We...cannot seem to locate Hiro either...my lord." And he shut his eyes tightly as the Minister tossed the scrolls that had been sprawled on his desk against the wall in a rage.

"Contact Jianyu. I want guards searching every inch of this capital. The entire city is gated in. She couldn't have gotten far. I want her back here by morning. No one sleeps until she is found." With a squeak, the attendant fled the room eager to put any sort of distance between himself and the Minister. Xu stomped to the window, and gripped the sill until it began to splinter.

"She won't ruin this for me," he whispered to the night sky as if it was listening intently. "I swear it." But there was no answer save the twinkle of stars and the hush of the wind as it rolled by his window.

"I will kill her before I allow her to humiliate me!" And he meant it with every fiber of his twisted being.

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So there is chapter two. Hope you enjoyed it and that it was in keeping with chapter one. I hope the girls aren't coming off as dull in any way. Believe me. Living with the bandits will offer them plenty of opportunities to reveal some of their true colors as well as give them reason to change and develop. Good stuff coming up. Very good stuff. If you're bummed about the lack of Tasukiness or Chichiriness, just be patient. They'll be along soon enough. The girls need time to get acclimated and to really learn how to be men before we start throwing celestial warriors at them. ;) Let me know what you thought. Reviews are the best way to weasel more chapters out of me. I'm a sucker for a good review!


	3. Chapter 3

_**Flights of Fancy**_

**Disclaimer: The characters from Fushigi Yuugi are the creations and property of Yuu Watase and related enterprises. However, Akari, Hiro and any of the other original characters are products of my overly active imagination, and my compulsive need to see to it that everyone winds up happy. Or at least some version of happy. **

**Rating: PG-13 just to be safe. This thing has a mind of its own. The rating may or may not change as it continues. The violence isn't horrific, but it is there. The humor isn't crude, and the language isn't blush-worthy. However, it isn't a happy-go-lucky read either. I suppose the best adventures aren't. **

**Timeline/Spoiler: I've set it after the first two OVAs, but before the third. I don't know if the third will even exist in this story. We could easily say a year has passed since the end of the second OVA. If you haven't seen them, you won't flounder helplessly during the reading of this, but I will make references to different things that occurred in them. So it may help your reading if you take a moment to familiarize yourself with them. **

**Author's Note: I think we're moving along quite nicely. I should have chapter six finished tonight, and I'll be able to dive right into chapter seven. Let's just say that chapter seven is where the story really takes off. Something to wet your whistle. ;) A HUGE shout out to AgrandMalfunction . Thanks for the awesome review! And now, on with the story! **

**Enjoy!**

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Chapter Three

The nearly two hour long tour of the bandit fortress culminated with Kouji and his two newest recruits trekking down towards the dead end of a long hallway.

"And this is where you two will be staying!" Kouji said as he opened the last door in the hallway, the door to a tiny room complete with two tiny beds. The girls stepped in warily and took it all in. The room was more or less empty except for the two beds and a window with no covering. And there was a humble chest propped up against the wall. Akari noticed a small wooden pail in the corner, and Kouji smiled. "I'd leave that there if I was you two. There's a leak. But it's only a problem when it's raining!" he said sarcastically. "And uh, I'd keep bundled in here too. Nothing ta cover that window, so it can get chilly at night." He smirked at the displeased look on the white haired boy's face. He searched his brain in an attempt to remember the boy's name. Fa...Jin? Yes, that was it. Jin. Jin and...Shang.

"Well," he said, stretching his arms above his head. "Breakfast is already over, so you'll have to wait fer lunch if you're hungry. And lunch ain't fer a while. I'll leave you two ta get acquainted with th' room." He left the room, but not before poking his head back in. "Good luck boys!"

And with that, he was gone. The girls stood transfixed for a moment allowing it all to sink in. And when it did, Akari sprang forward and locked the door. Then ever so slowly, she turned to face Hiro, an unmistakably pleased grin on her face. Hiro watched her unsure of how to respond. However, she felt shoved out of her comfort zone when Akari, without any warning, ran across the room and threw her arms around Hiro's neck.

"Can you believe it Hiro?" she shouted earned a pointed 'shhh' from her bunk mate. She lowered her voice substantially, but the excitement was still present. "We did it! We're in. We're bandits!" She twirled around the room dragging Hiro with her.

"We aren't bandits." Hiro said, quick to extinguish the girl's wonderful mood. "We're runaway girls posing as bandits!"

Akari finally loosened her hold on Hiro, and shrugged her shoulders as she crossed the room and plopped down on one of the beds.

"Big deal!" she said testing the mats and the pillows. They were hardly suitable, especially when compared to what she was accustomed to, but they were rugged and exciting and dangerous. Everything concerning the bandits was rugged and exciting and dangerous. "So we aren't really bandits! They don't know that! And did you hear Kouji call us boys? They completely believe that we're men."

"Boys." Hiro said, taking a seat on her bed.

"Whatever. The fact is that we're in. We slipped out from underneath my father's nose, walked all the way to Mt. Reikaku, hiked up the dreadful thing, convinced the bandits that we were men, and now, we're in _our_ room. Our bandit room. Our bandit room in the bandit fortress. Our bandit room in the bandit fortress on top of the bandit mountain!"

"All right!" Hiro exclaimed. "I get it!" She grimaced as the vein in her forehead threatened to pop. But Akari was hardly aware of it.

"Oh, I forgot to ask if that was the bed that you wanted!" Akari said, sitting up and staring at Hiro's prostrate figure.

"This bed is fine my lady as long as your bed is fine." Hiro answered dutifully.

"My bed is fine as long as your bed is fine." said Akari, her voice chipper and pert, much more than Hiro was in the mood for. "And while we're on the subject, no more of this my lady nonsense!" At this, Hiro sat up and looked at her charge as if she had suddenly sprung an extra head. "I am no longer your lady. And you aren't my nursemaid. We're roommates. And fellow bandits." Hiro was at a loss for words. "In fact, the only way that I could still even think of considering myself as your lady was if you were still bound to me by that money. But," Akari said, her eyes watching Hiro like a hawk, "You gave away that money." And Hiro suddenly felt very exposed under her gaze. "Why did you..by the way?"

"Why did I what?" Hiro asked as if the object of Akari's question wasn't crystal clear.

"Why did you give away your money? That was your payment for agreeing to leave with me. It was supposed to be for you. And you gave it to Kouji. Why?" Hiro sighed before conceding and looking up to catch Akari's waiting gaze.

"I needed to ensure that we were accepted by the bandits. And I know their whole mode of thinking is operated by money. So I figured that if I waved a bag of money in their face, then they would be more apt to letting us stay. The money would've been worthless if we had made it all the way up here and were simply turned away at the door. So I did what I had to," she answered quite simply.

Akari nodded and accepted Hiro's words. She had never known the girl to lie to her, and so there was no reason to assume that she would now. Especially when they were all each other had at this point. She smiled as Hiro pulled off her hat and allowed all of her hair to slip down to its normal length again, and Akari followed her lead. On a typical night, right before tucking herself into bed, Akari would run a brush through her silky locks, and she wouldn't cease until she had hit one hundred brush strokes. But here, there was no brush. There was nothing at all save for two scrawny beds, a rickety bucket, a small chest that she assumed was to keep their valuables locked away from the other bandits, and the clothes they had brought with them.

Between the two of them, they had brought about five or six pairs of pants as well as a respectable assortment of shirts, vests and jackets. The intent was to cushion their girlish figures and to appear more like men. However, it worked out doubly well now that they were curled up in their freezing cold room. Akari huddled underneath her blanket and shivered. But it was a welcome shiver. Back home, she would be more than warm with an array of blankets and comfortable bed clothes. And she would drift off to sleep just as miserable as she had been the day before. Yes, she was now uncomfortably cold, but it was refreshing. She felt revived- like a jolt of pure life had ransacked her system, and was holding it hostage.

She peeked out from underneath her blanket. "Hiro?"

And Akari heard a restless sigh from the other side of the room. "Yes?" Hiro apparently had the same idea that Akari had. After waking up at nearly four in the morning and walking for nearly six hours, both of the girls were completely and utterly exhausted. And while it was only ten in the morning, they were also famished, and so their need for sleep outweighed their need for food. So, like Akari, Hiro was huddled underneath her covers.

"You don't think they'll work us too hard, do you?"

Now it was Hiro's turn to pop out from underneath her blanket, and she squinted at Akari from across the room. "What do you mean?"

"The bandits. Kouji. You don't think they'll put us to work and expect really hard bandit stuff, do you?"

"I doubt it. I mean, I don't want to play the youth card, but it seems like they all think that we're a whole lot younger than we really are. So if they think we're children, I expect that they'll treat us like children. I really think that Kouji figures that he'll bide his time until we run home crying, and he'll just amuse himself with us until then."

Akari laughed. "Then he's going to be waiting a while because we're not going anywhere. And even if they do put us to work, what's the worst that could happen?" She laid her head back on her pillow, and pulled the covers back firmly over her head. "I mean, you saw them when they attacked the carriage. They really didn't _do _anything. Kouji did all of the work. The rest of them just stood there looking scary. How hard can this bandit thing be?"

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"This is too hard!" Akari whispered to Hiro as they skulked through the woods later that afternoon. They had been forced out of their pleasant dreams by a rough banging on the door calling the two of them to lunch, and as much as they wanted to simply ignore the banging and retreat back into Slumber-land, their stomachs began exercising their free will and revolted against the girls. But after lunch, they weren't allowed time to sleep either. After lunch, there was another blasted tour of the armory, the kitchens and the secret back road down the mountain. All very hush hush according to their enthusiastic bandit tour guide. And after all of the _touring_ around, the girls were still denied the comforts of sleep when Kouji announced that they would be accompanying that evening's scouting party. Both of the girls were a bit stunned, but he reasoned that the sooner they were testing the waters and carrying their fair share, the better.

And so, here they were, huddled behind bushes and watching the road for carriages. Akari grimaced. "What do you think the chances are of their noticing if we turn around and slip back to our rooms?" But this only earned a well deserved eye roll from Hiro. And so with a grumble, Akari continued resumed staring at the dusty mountain road. The wind ever so gently blew through the trees above them like a lover's sigh, and it seemed to effectively mask the sounds caused by the group of bandits. The average passerby would have been highly fortunate to take notice of the ten or so bandits hidden by the trees and crouching beside low laying bushes and boulders. But unless said passerby were purposefully looking for bandits, they would never see a one of them. As it was currently midday, Kouji sent the group out to monitor the mountain's main road in the search for merchants who were on their merry way to make beautiful money.

However, the fate for most of these unfortunate merchants was to lose money, not make it. But the bandit's life never bothered Kouji. If these merchants were careless enough to wander on Mt. Reikaku knowing that it was riddled with money-hungry thieves, then that was their burden to bear. And if the merchants happened to be completely ignorant or were the occasional out-of-towner who simply didn't know that they were wandering on dangerous territory, then it was Kouji's civic responsibility as a respected member of Konan's community to welcome the visitor's as he knew best. And that was, of course, to rob them senseless.

Kouji snapped to attention as the oh so delectable sound of carriage wheels against a dirt road chimed in his ears. Time to get to work. He threw a couple of hand signals to his men, and they stiffened in position. He glanced behind his shoulder at the new kids to see how they were faring and if they were ready, but he nearly laughed aloud at the baffled looks on their faces. He repeated the hand gestures to them, gestures that his men were more than accustomed to- signals that said 'Gear up, it's about to go down'. He stared at Jin and Shang expectantly, and waited for their response. The two boys looked at each other warily before shrugging their shoulders casually and offering back enthusiastic thumbs-up. And he shook his head. These poor boys were in way over their head.

With a deep breath, he took the long awaited first step from behind the tree, and with all of the ethereal grace of a primitive jungle cat, he swept down the mountain side closing the gap between himself and the ever approaching carriage. And as if connected by an imperceptible string, all of the bandits crept out of their respective hiding places, and followed suit storming towards the road with all necessary stealth and silence.

Hiro smirked at the irony of it all. Nearly 24 hours earlier, she was sitting in a carriage while the mountain bandits overtook it. And now, here she was, making ready to ransack a carriage herself. She physically shook the thought out of her mind. Best not to allow any stray thoughts to distract her from the task at hand, and that was to get to the carriage and to assist in any way that she could. She stepped up from her crouched position by the bush, and was about to take her first step in a series of many when she felt a small hand grab her ankle.

"What are you doing?" Akari asked in a panic. Hiro blinked.

"I'm going down there."

Now it was Akari's turn to blink. "Why?" she asked as if Hiro's going with the other bandits was the most preposterous thing she had ever heard of.

"Because it's our job. That's why Kouji told us to come with them today!" Hiro answered quite certain that Akari's 'Why' was one of the most idiotic things the girl had ever uttered.

Akari shook her head. "I don't think he wanted us to follow him!"

"And what do you think he wants us to do?" Hiro asked as if speaking to a child.

Akari squinted her eyes. Was Hiro talking down to her? "I think he wants us to watch him. You know? Observe the ropes." A silence fell between the two girls, but was quickly ended with Hiro turned on her heels.

"I'm leaving you now," she said as she slinked after the rest of the men. Akari grumbled before standing to her feet and creeping after Hiro and the others.

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Xu looked up, his face red with seething anger, as one of his advisers poked their head into his room. He was hardly in the mood to entertain guests.

"Yes, what is it?" he barked causing his adviser to cringe inwardly. Years of working with Minister Xu and he was still not accustomed to his bursts of wrath.

"Lord Jianyu here to see you sir," croaked the adviser. Xu stood up quickly, and nearly ran to the door as Jianyu entered the guest quarters with two or three of his own attendants and advisers. The two men bowed as was customary and proper, especially given the circumstances. Jianyu's worn eyes captured Xu's.

"I assume that there has been no success thus far in securing your daughter," he remarked, his voice thick and sandy.

Xu balled up his fists, but they were fortunately hidden beneath the folds of his robes. "No. The guards have combed through the lengths of every street in this city, and still, no sign of her. I think that it is time that we start searching homes. If she has been taken, as I believe she has, then she may be held up somewhere in the city waiting to be found." Xu's pulse quickened as he saw a flash of disbelief dance across Jianyu's features. The old man didn't believe that Akari had been taken. And neither did Xu.

There was no evidence in her quarters to suggest that she had been forcefully removed. The only other option was that she had willingly left. He had hoped to avoid raising Jianyu's suspicions in this particular direction. If the man thought that Akari was such a disobedient wretch, he could very well withdraw his offer of marriage, and utter and complete humiliation would be wrought upon Xu. Yes, better to play on the man's sympathies. He seemed more or less like a sensitive old fool. Perhaps if he believed that Akari had been taken, then he would be less inclined to break off the engagement.

Xu frowned. "She may be in need of medical attention or food. She could be hurt. Or worse. Yes, I insist that we begin searching the homes in the city. Every second that we waste brings Akari one second closer to her death at the hands of the ruffians who've taken her!" Was he playing up the role of the doting father too much? The sentiments felt foreign coming from him. But Jianyu was a stranger. Would he fall for the trick?

Jianyu's graying eyebrows raised. "Do you think that there is any chance under the sun that your daughter simply chose to run away herself?"

Apparently he wouldn't fall for the trick. Xu nearly swore under his breath. Curse the old man's wisdom.

"Why she would ever do such a thing my Lord?" he questioned naively, desperately wanting to wring her scrawny neck.

Jianyu tipped his head as if it were the most obvious thing in the world, but then shook his head. "Perhaps you are right. Surely you know your daughter the best of all of us. We shall assume that she has been taken, and until we find out otherwise, we shall assume that she is still in the city." Xu blocked the heaving sigh of relief that threatened to spill from his lips, and simply nodded. "Unfortunately, we shall not be able to search any of the homes until we first consult the Dowager Empress. Without her consent, I'm afraid we are not at liberty to enter anyone's home with the intent of searching out a hostage."

The Minister began to panic. Every second that she was gone, she was well within her abilities to put more and more distance between herself and her father. And before long, if no ransom note or inarguable evidence surfaced suggesting that she had, in fact, been kidnapped, then Jianyu would be forced to assume that Akari had run away. And no respectable man would settle for a shameful and dishonest child-wife. "But time is of the essence," the Minister cried. Jianyu nodded.

"Then we should proceed to the palace immediately. The sooner that we consult with the Empress, then the sooner we may begin searching the city more thoroughly and securing your daughter's safety." Jianyu's face suddenly became very grim. "And the sooner she is here safe, the better. Konan is a fortunate nation headed by a noble and gracious ruler. But not all corners of the city are safe, and there are people out there who would sooner harm your daughter than help her." He glanced out the window. "The city can be dangerous after nightfall."

Xu growled.

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The banquet hall was a bustle of noise and activity as all of the bandits poured in for good conversation and the evening meal which consisted mostly of copious amounts of liquor and very little food. And as more men filed in, the clamor continued to rise until it had reached a dull roar. Akari and Hiro tried their best to mingle with the best of them so as not to look too out of place. But the room fell quiet when Kouji stood up on his table and commanded their attention. In his hand, he waved a decent sized pouch, and as the cherubic ringing of coins rattling against one another filled the air and glided into the ears of the thieves, they broke into a round of applause.

"Boys," started Kouji as they settled down once again, "today, we made out like bandits!" And once again, the room erupted into cheers and laughs. He smiled, not beyond the reach of a cheesy one liner every once in a while. "We did good today boys! Real good!" More hoots and hollers. "In fact, I feel pretty safe ta say that we taught those men a very valuable lesson!"

At this, the bandits became uncomfortably quiet. They taught the merchants a lesson? They taught? Taught something valuable? They looked back and forth between each other as if trying to decipher whether or not they liked their stealing to become educational in nature. It seemed very...un-bandit of them. Kouji smiled. "We taught them not ta underestimate the bandits of Mt. Reikaku, and when we say empty those pockets, we mean empty those pockets!" he shouted, opening the pouch and tossing the contents up into the air like a bridal bouquet. The coins flitted through the air before landing haphazardly across the tables and floor, and the thieves' hall burst with laughter and gaiety.

"This calls fer a celebration!" Kouji shouted above the din. "A handful of ya head ta th' kitchen an' bring back some of our best sake! Tonight, we drink! Tomorrow...we cry cuz we drank too much. But tonight, we drink!"

"I'll go!"

"I got it Kouji!"

"I can go too!"

"I'll go," Hiro said, standing quickly to her feet, and ignored Akari's protests. Akari stared at Hiro's retreating figure until she was gone from the room confusedly. What was that girl thinking leaving Akari all on her own in a room full of men who would probably relish the chance to get their grubby paws on a lady of class?

Oh yeah. She wasn't a lady of class. Not in this crowd. Tonight, she was one of the guys. Tonight, she was Jin. She smiled brightly and returned her attention to the bandit sitting next to her who was relaying some story or other about some time or other where he stole a...something or other from this rich man...or woman. Most of his stories were horribly similar, so she unfortunately was having a bit of trouble keeping track of them all. But somehow it was all right. She was still having a wonderful time despite the rambler's ramblings.

After a few moments had passed, the bandits that had gone on a Sake run returned, Hiro among them carrying two clay pitchers. The bandits held up their empty cups and wiped the drool from their chapped lips as they stared in delicious attention at the jugs containing the sweet nectar of the gods. When Hiro had successfully emptied her first jug, she sat the other one down in front of Akari and filled both of their cups. Akari stared at her full cup in wide eyed wonder, and then peeked at the men sitting all around her. They all were attaching their drinks without any idea that they were being watched so intently, or rather, they couldn't care less.

Akari glanced at Hiro who was nearly halfway finished with her own cup. And she grinned wickedly. Sake. And without another thought, she put the cup to her lips and sipped once, sipped again, and then proceeded to down her cup in a matter of seconds. Hiro watched the girl from the corner of her eye, and shook her head. 'Idiot', she thought with a roll of her eyes- or rather, eye as the other one was currently covered with a patch- before returning to her own drink.

Akari wiped her mouth across her sleeve like a child of four before slamming her cup down on the table.

"More!" she shouted, and the bandits around her cheered.

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It may have taken twenty minutes for the sake to run dry. And it may have taken hours. The bandits were hardly sober enough to judge how long it had actually taken them before cleaning the banquet hall of every last drop of alcohol. But they did it. Somehow, they did it. And while some of the men had simply passed out where they sat, their heads strewn in their bowls, others had bravely attempted to reach their sleeping quarters- before passing out on the ground near the door. And then, there were a select few who were still swinging their empty cups and singing drinking songs in horrible baritone voices.

And Hiro cringed inwardly, outwardly, and every other place where she could manage a cringe as the sound of Akari's hideous singing voice crept into her ear and seemed to physically jab her in the eye. She had to be grateful though. While she couldn't block out the sound of Akari's singing, she could block the images of her from entering into her brain and searing a permanent spot in her memory. The girl stumbled and lost her footing, hobbled and laughed with the best and worst drunks in the room, Kouji included. In short, she looked like a blithering idiot. And Hiro had had enough. She stood up from her chair in a sluggish instant, and maneuvered her way through the small crowd to where Akari stood, her arms casually thrown over the shoulder of some bandit standing next to her, partly to share in the "feel good family" aura in the air, and partly to keep herself from falling over in a crumpled heap.

Hiro disentangled the girl's arms from the men and steadied her against her own body as she slowly made her way towards the door.

"Where ya off ta Shang?" Hiro almost ignored Kouji's call completely before she remembered in a dizzy haze that _she_ was Shang. She turned around a bit too quickly and instantly regretted it as her world began to spin a little. And she cursed herself. How had she let herself get that tipsy? Granted, she had only drunk a few beers, but she knew her limit and was careful not to cross it. Had it been that long since she had indulged a little and drank? Apparently so. She cleared her throat.

"Just takin' this one ta bed!" she called out in a perfect imitation of their mountain accents.

"Yeah, that's probably best." Kouji said with a wolfish grin. "Kid did good tonight. He held his liquor!"

Hiro held her grimace. "Yeah, but he'll be feelin' it tomorrow!" She shifted Akari's weight to better support her before nodding her head to Kouji. "Night boss!" she called over her shoulder.

"Night Shang!" Kouji called back, and he watched Shang stagger through the door as he dragged Jin's nearly limp form towards their room. He had half a mind to go lend the pair a hand, but if they intended to rough it with the rest of the guys, then they had to learn how to do things themselves- and that especially counted for late night drunken and painful walks back to bed. He had had to learn the same lesson. And now, he was an expert at stumbling all the way to his room. In fact, he was so good at it that sometimes it was easier to stumble in the dark when he needed to find his room and the hallway was pitch black then it was to walk in a straight line. And that was true whether or not he was intoxicated. He returned his attention to the few remaining bandits who were still caught up in their drinking song- although there was no more drinking to be done.

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Akari fell in a heap on her bed as Hiro inched away from her prostrate form and moved to lock the door. She watched dizzily as Hiro removed her boots and head coverings.

Hiro looked up as Akari grumbled in pain. "I think I'm drunk!" Akari slurred. Hiro rolled her eyes. "I can't believe I drank so much. I wanted to stop...but I didn't want to stop. And the guy next to me kept going and going...and going and going. And I thought...if he can do it, I can do it. But," she groaned again, "I can't do it...even though I did it!"

Hiro snapped. "Give it up Akari! You aren't drunk!" she shouted as loudly as she dared. Akari's head lolled to the side as she stared at Hiro like the girl was on fire.

"What do you mean?"

"I mean _you aren't drunk_!"

"Yes I am," slurred Akari. "I'm acting just the same as the rest of them!" she gestured wildly.

Hiro sighed and considered putting her head through the wall. "They're actually drunk!"

"Well, if they're drunk, then I'm certainly drunk. All me and the _Rambler_ did was drink!" Akari hiccuped.

And Hiro had had enough. "You were drinking water!", she shouted in her pillow, and while she didn't see it, she could almost imagine Akari's eyes widening. "Water with a little bit of sake mixed in so that it wouldn't taste like water and you wouldn't know the difference. But it was mostly water. And you could drink as much of that stuff as you want, you aren't gonna wind up this tipsy just from that."

Akari sat up in a rage. "You mean to tell me that it was fake? Fake sake?" Suddenly, every bit of slur in her voice was gone. The loll in her eyes had completely disappeared. And there was no stumble or twitch in her movements. It was as if she had never taken a drink at all.

"Yes!" Hiro shot back.

"Why would you do that? How could you be so dishonest?"

Hiro yanked the pillow off of her face. She clearly wasn't getting to bed any time soon. "Have you ever drank before?"

"Don't ask me stupid questions. You know that I haven't!" Akari shot back.

"Well then, I hope you can excuse me if I figured that it was better to be safe. I really wasn't looking forward to having to drag your passed out body back up here, and I would've been even less thrilled to wake up tomorrow morning to find you had died in the middle of the night from alcohol poisoning! So in order to avoid that lovely scene, I watered down your drink and let you have at it!"

The room fell silent as the two girls stared at each other. And then, as if miraculous reason had flitted down from heaven, Akari smiled. "And I did have at it, didn't I?" And Hiro couldn't help but smile.

"Yes, you certainly did!" And then, the most wondrous and unforeseeable thing happened. The two girls began to laugh- with each other. Images of Akari slugging back her beers as if she was a seasoned drinker surfaced in both of their minds, and their muffled giggle erupted into a burst of roaring laughter, each of them clutching their sides.

Perhaps it was all of the tension from their tumultuous first day as bandits begging to be released.

Perhaps it was sake.

Or perhaps it was the curious beginning of a strange new friendship.

Finally, after what seemed like minutes, the girls quieted their laughter, not wanting to be found out by a passerby. Akari smiled at Hiro.

"Have you ever drank before Hiro?" she asked innocently.

"Of course," was the reply. Akari's eyes widened.

"Have you...ever been drunk before?"

Her blue haired companion grimaced. "Unfortunately, I have." Akari gasped. "And it isn't something I would prefer to experience again," she said, removing her shoes and crawling back into bed. Akari stared at her in breathless wonderment.

"You've lived a charmed life Hiro," she exclaimed with stars in her eyes. Hiro drunk. Imagine that.

"I'm sad to know you think so my l..." Akari cut her off with a pointed stare. "...Akari." The girl's name felt foreign on her tongue. After all, she had only ever called her 'my lady'. And suddenly, according to Akari, that was no longer appropriate. She wasn't quite sure if she liked this change in their relationship dynamic, but she couldn't deny the look of pure rapture that had engulfed Akari's face when she heard Hiro use her name. She smiled brightly before throwing the covers over her face and letting her head hit the pillow. The room fell more or less silent as the only sounds to be heard were the hooting of owls, and the billowing wind as it rushed through the trees. Night time had truly fallen over Mt. Reikaku. The day was finally over. And what a day it had been. Suddenly, the tranquil stillness was broken.

"Goodnight Hiro," a hushed whisper called out.

There was a hushed pause.

And finally, a voice echoed back. "Goodnight...Akari."

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**That was fun to write. I have to admit. :) Hope it was fun to read. Let me know what you think! Despite the fact that I already have chapter four written and ready to be uploaded, reviews make uploading chapters so much more fun! Reviews are brain food! Necessary and oh so delectable. So give in to your impulse, hit that little review button down there, and let me know what you think. More reviews mean more chapters. More chapters mean more for you to read. If there is more for you to read, then you have more to review on. And that means _more_ chapters. See? It's a beautiful cycle. Give in to the cycle! **


	4. Chapter 4

_**Flights of Fancy **_

**Disclaimer: The characters from Fushigi Yuugi are the creations and property of Yuu Watase and related enterprises. However, Akari, Hiro and any of the other original characters are products of my overly active imagination, and my compulsive need to see to it that everyone winds up happy. Or at least some version of happy. **

**Rating: PG-13 just to be safe. This thing has a mind of its own. The rating may or may not change as it continues. The violence isn't horrific, but it is there. The humor isn't crude, and the language isn't blush-worthy. However, it isn't a happy-go-lucky read either. I suppose the best adventures aren't. **

**Timeline/Spoiler: I've set it after the first two OVAs, but before the third. I don't know if the third will even exist in this story. We could easily say a year has passed since the end of the second OVA. If you haven't seen them, you won't flounder helplessly during the reading of this, but I will make references to different things that occurred in them. So it may help your reading if you take a moment to familiarize yourself with them. **

**Author's Note: Couple of things that need mentioning today. **

**First, a great big YOU ARE AWESOME to ****AGrandMalfunction**** and our newest reviewer, ****Azure Ryukiba****. Thanks so much for reading and letting me know what you think. I can see that people are reading, and I'm getting notices saying that some of you have alerted this story as well as added it to your Favorites. Thanks so incredibly much! That is awesome. Now, let's get some more reviews. Reviews are brain food. And as ****AGrandMalfunction ****has discovered, they keep chapters coming. ;)**

**Secondly,**** I'm totally a moron who doesn't even know the story she is writing. Last chapter, I mentioned that I was nearly done with Chapter six and about to start Seven where the story really takes off. I lied. :) I just finished Chapter five and am about to start six...where the story really takes off. Haha. I don't mean to confuse you. But if you are confused, be soothed by the fact that I confuse myself as well. Anyways, so to clarify, I just finished chapter five, and it was massive. A lot of good stuff goes on there. But enough about five. Let's talk about four!**

**Congratulations reader, your patience has been rewarded. I won't go into detail, but let's just say a certain red head makes his long awaited appearance. ;) Enough said! Enjoy!**

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Chapter Four

**Two days later...**

Kouji glanced over his shoulder, and took steps to slow his pace down a bit. He knew the other bandits were going to get a good ways a head of him if he kept to this crawl, but he didn't want to leave the boys behind. Jin and Shang were holding their own fairly well, he had to admit. Shang seemed the more fleet footed of the two, but Jing wasn't half bad at tip toeing through the forest as silently as any of the other bandits. Part of their luck was that they were both rather small, but Kouji had high hopes that the boys would grow to be strapping men. Otherwise, they would always have to fight a little harder to gain the respect that they deserved. It had started already. While the bandits knew better than to outright plague the two boys, they did have their share of fun at Jin and Shang's expense. Ritualistic hazing had begun almost as soon as it was announced that the boys were staying, and it's conclusion didn't appear to be anywhere in sight.

Initially, Kouji had wanted to step in and ask his boys to take it easy on the kids, but once again, reason reigned. And he knew that if Jin and Shang really intended to stick it out with the greatest bandit gang that Konan had to offer, then they needed to be able to withstand a little bit of friendly competition. And he would be quick to admit that the two boys were holding up decently well, almost better than Kouji had expected. It was almost as if they had come expecting the unfair treatment from the bandits. It wasn't as though the kids had expected the bandits to clear the kitchens way before regular breakfast hours so that the two would miss the morning meal. They weren't expecting to be given bad directions in the woods that led them straight into a rather embarrassing trap. And they certainly didn't see their chairs being tampered with and collapsing underneath them during dinner. But the two seemed composed throughout the entire ordeal- as if they had expected problems between them and the bandits.

Perhaps 'problem' was the wrong word. The pranks weren't problems. Not really. It was just a part of bandit life. They had all gone through the same things. Kouji remembered his first month in the gang. He had played tough, but by the end of the month, he had reached his breaking point, and he was beginning to wonder whether running away from his drunken fool of dad at 13 to join the gang was really the best idea. But once he had proven himself, the pranks stopped, and suddenly, he wasn't _the kid_ anymore. He was simply Kouji. One of the gang. He had earned his spot. He was a part of the family. And Jin and Shang would pass through their trial period just fine- hopefully. And they would be accepted into the gang- hopefully. And they would find themselves equal members of the world's greatest family- hopefully.

It was only a matter of time. Hopefully.

"How ya two doin' back here?" he asked, keeping his voice low. They were a good ways away from the main road, but it wasn't unheard of for rival gangs to be seen this far up their mountain. It had happened before. It could very well happen again. Jin kept his hands gripped tightly around his daggers while Shang had his arrow notched and ready. The two nodded at Kouji, and that seemed a fitting response. Kouji had noticed when the group had initially set out for the road that Shang and Jin were carrying weapons. Most of the bandits made it a habit to carry something on their person at all times, especially when they were outside the safety of the fortress. He just hoped the kids could actually use the weapons. Swords and bows were great- but only in the right hands. Otherwise, they took up room, and gave the enemy something else to grab onto.

He nodded back to the boys, and turned back to the group. The three of them silently proceeded together until they reached the rest of the bandits. And they arrived just in time as a carriage was making its way along the road. Kouji smiled. By the looks of it, the carriage was pretty fancy. Fancy was good. Fancy meant pay day. When the carriage was in position, Kouji gave the signal, and like a torrent, the bandits pounced out from behind their hiding spots. Jin and Shang couldn't help but stand amazed. The bandits had managed to assume control of the carriage in less than twenty seconds. Sure, the driver didn't seem like the type to put up a fight. And neither did the peacocks inside. But they had been on their way from somewhere to somewhere. And in twenty seconds, their lives had been derailed in an unforeseeable way. They didn't even have a say in the matter. It was, all of it, completely out of their hands.

And Akari couldn't help but admire that.

As if performing their twisted dance from memory, two of the bandits pulled the driver off of his pedestal while the other six effectively removed the three men from within the comforts of their carriage. The spectacle made Akari smile. She knew these men. She didn't _know them_ know them, but she knew their kind. Pampered and primped like little dolls. Their pathetic whimpers nearly made her laugh aloud as the three men did not even try their hands at masking their obvious cowardice.

'They probably all have sad little stone-faced daughters waiting for them at home. Miserable angels. Just wasting away until their daddies came home with skeleton husbands for them to wed!' she thought to herself, and tightened her hold on the daggers. She wouldn't use them against the men, obviously. But it felt strangely empowering holding mortally fateful instruments.

Kouji pointed his finger at the men as if he were talking to a couple of children. "Now, don't any a' you three move a muscle while we kindly an' respectfully steal everything you're presently cartin' around with ya!" And if the men weren't so busy trying not to urinate themselves, they might have spared Kouji three very piercing glares. But he just smiled. He was more than used to those looks by now. He glanced at their outfits, and judging by the amount of silk currently in circulation between the three of them, he didn't suspect that his thieving would reduce the men to mere paupers. No. They would be just fine. A little shaken up perhaps. And a little less apt to ever take this particular road again maybe. But not destitute. And so his guilt was absolved. He glanced up as the two bandits that had disappeared inside the carriage to loot the goods suddenly appeared more or less empty handed. They each carried a small bag or two of coins and maybe a small trinket of value, but that was all. Kouji's confused look directed at the two men seemed to ask the question for him.

"That's all there was boss," said the taller of the two men. "We tore th' carriage apart. This is all there is!" and he waved the pouch. The bandits seemed to sigh collectively. If that was all there was, then this trip was going to be a monumental waste.

Kouji turned to the three men. "Where's th' rest of it?"

"I'm d-d-dreadfully s-sorry," the oldest one spoke up. "But that's all there is. We are returning to the capital city this evening, and so to avoid any mishaps, we chose to only bring what we needed."

"And that," one of the other men pointed to the pouches that the two bandits were still holding. "is all we needed."

The first man piped in. "Quite right. Again, very sorry. Please don't hurt us. And let us be on our way." Akari watched as the third man, the one who had yet to speak up stared at his feet.

"They're lying," she called out in her best 'man' voice, and every pair of eyes were suddenly on her. Hiro tried to maintain a look of calm as Akari left her side and ventured up towards the carriage.

"Jin, what'ya mean _they're lyin_'?" Kouji asked, obviously confused. Akari shrugged her shoulders.

"I mean...they're lying. That" and she pointed to the pouches imitating the gestures and words of the second sniveling man. "is _not_ all they needed." She took a step or two towards the door.

"Young man," the oldest gentleman said as he stepped out of rank and angrily approached her. "How dare you accuse us of..." He was stopped dead in his tracks and stared in pure horror at the arrow that had embedded itself in the side of the carriage only an inch or two away from his face. He glanced at the source of the arrow at the exact same time as every bandit turned around. Hiro lowered her bow and stared at the man, her one good eye casting shivers down the man's spine.

"I believe th' boss asked you not ta move!" she whispered, her voice husky and dry. Akari smirked, and continued to enter the carriage. Out of curiosity, Kouji couldn't help but peek inside. Just what was this kid up to?

His eyes opened wide as Jin pulled all of the cushions off of the seats, and then his eyes opened even wider when Jin revealed a small trap door underneath one of the cushions. Hidden in plain sight. The door had a keyhole, and Jin grimaced. He poked his head outside of the carriage entrance, and stared at the three men.

"Where's the key?" she asked, trying her best to look menacing. But she knew good and well that it wasn't her forte. Fortunately, it didn't seem to matter all too much as the third man, the one with the darty eyes who had yet to say a word looked up with terror written all over his sniveling face.

"We threw it outside the carriage window when we saw you all were advancing!" he nearly shouted, more than eager to be done with the bandits and this entirely awful ordeal. And the glares that he was receiving from his two riding companions seemed only to add insult to injury. Akari rolled her eyes although the gesture was lost on the group as her eyes were effectively covered by her long bangs. She gripped the dagger in her hand, and Kouji watched with wide-eyed admiration as she jammed the knife into the seam of the wood and popped the small door open. She reached her arms inside the small opening and almost let loose a pleased laugh when her hand came to rest upon hidden treasure.

She and Kouji exited the carriage, their arms decently full of money bags, boxes of jewelry, and a small chest with documents inside. The documents would no doubt prove to be useless, but Akari rather fancied the chest. The bandits cheered in unbridled excitement, and the three men dropped their heads in agony. Hiro smirked. 'Good thinking Akari!'

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**Later that evening...**

Hiro and Akari looked up in alarm as the sound of someone rapping on their door reached their ears.

"Yeah?" Akari called out, already accustomed to switching to her bandit voice at the drop of a hat. The girls sat with baited breath.

"It's Kouji!" the voice answered, and the girls visibly relaxed. "Lemme in. I gotta talk ta ya!" The girls glanced at their disguises quickly to make sure that they were still intact. And indeed, they were. Kouji grinned at them as the door opened although he made no move to step inside their room. They looked up at him expectantly, and he took the floor.

"I just wanted ta tell you boys that you two did great today. Really great." He turned to Hiro. "I gotta admit that I wasn't too keen on seein' you walk around with a bow and arrow at the ready. But you certainly proved yourself!" And he laughed. "Man, do you got some killer aim or what! And the look on that turkey's face! Priceless!"

Hiro couldn't help but smirk. The man's expression was rather humorous.

"And Jin," Kouji turned to face Akari. "You really came through findin' that trap door and all. We would've come back empty handed. But you- you saved the day. The both of you. So...I came to give you this." And upon reaching into his pocket, he took out two gold coins, and handed one to each of the girls. They looked back and forth between the money in their hands and the bandit who had given it to them.

"I don't understand," Hiro offered.

"All of the money that we steal goes into the pot, and it belongs to all of the bandits here. That way, we all pull our weight, and no one gets more than anybody else. But once in a while, when a bandit goes above and beyond the call of duty, we like to give them a little piece of the share that's all for them. Kind of a thank you, ya know?" The girls nodded. "It's just sort of a tradition I guess. Our old boss would do it for us, and Genrou always said that he wanted to continue it. So I'm just doing what I'm supposed to be doing! And you two earned it!"

Hiro pocketed her coin with a grateful 'Thanks boss'.

"Who's Genrou?" Akari asked, her ever insatiable curiosity bubbling up within her. She had heard his name in passing a few times from various bandits, and she still hadn't met him yet. But the fortress was pretty big. And maybe, by chance, their paths just hadn't crossed. Kouji grinned again.

"Genrou's the real boss here at Mt. Reikaku. He was appointed to lead by our last boss before he died. He ain't been around in a while cuz he's got a lot of other responsibilities, but he's as great a guy as you'll ever meet!" His grin may have softened, but the excitement in his forest green eyes certainly didn't. He pulled his attention from the girls and gazed out the window for the tiniest moment, a fond look on his face- almost as if he was sifting through memories. And he was. Memories of him and Genrou running through the forest, climbing trees, robbing snooty merchants, drinking and singing till all hours of the morning, talking- always talking, always laughing. Always happy. "He's my best friend. Best friend a guy could ask for."

The girls, unsure of what to say in response, simply stared at the blue haired bandit as he chuckled a bit as if laughing at some distant memory. When he had regained composure, he smirked at the two, and then turned to leave them to enjoy the rest of their evening. A thought struck him and he turned quickly to glance back at the two.

"Don't go spendin' all a' that in one place, ya hear?" he joked, and made his way down the hall, but not before calling out a pleasant "Night Shang, night Jin."

"Night." they both called back automatically as they shut the door and locked it. Hiro shrugged her shoulders and returned to her bed, but Akari dug in her pocket like a greedy child and pulled out the gold piece.

"It's beautiful, isn't it?" she asked as she invited herself onto Hiro's bed, much to the girl's chagrin.

"It's money."

"I know. And it's beautiful...because it's all mine!" she said in a hushed voice as if revealing a secret. Hiro rolled her eyes. Akari certainly had an appetite for drama.

"What are you talking about? All your life, you've had money."Akari shook her head.

"No. No- not like this. It was always my father's money. Never really mine. But this..." she held up the coin delicately as if grasping a precious ruby. But she wasn't. She was simply holding a tiny little gold piece. "This is _all _mine. I earned it!" She laughed. "I've never had to work for anything. Ever. And I've never had the chance to earn money. But I earned this! I worked for it!" She kissed the coin affectionately, and somehow, the gesture pulled at Hiro's heartstrings a little bit. "I've always wondered what this felt like- to earn money, to work for it and have it handed to you and to know that you're good enough to hold it. And you know what?"

Hiro nodded, unaware that she was staring wide eyed at Akari, waiting for the girl to finish her monologue.

Akari smiled. "It feels even better than I expected!" And Hiro couldn't help but crack a tiny smile at the young girl's childish fervor as she hopped up from Hiro's bed, blew out their lamp and then hopped into her own bed. Her covers were pulled over her head in an instant as she snuggled into a comfortable spot for the night, and Hiro did the same.

"Goodnight Hiro," Akari called out.

"Goodnight," Hiro answered. Her eyes were only closed for a second before she heard Akari's rustling around, and then the unmistakable _pop_ of a tiny kiss on a tiny coin reached her ears. She could only imagine Akari hugging that grubby coin to her heart.

'Child,' Hiro thought to herself. After a moment, the rustling stopped, and Akari's gentle breathing was the only thing Hiro could hear. With all of the caution that she could muster, Hiro peeked out from underneath her blankets, and checked to see if Akari was still awake. All she could detect in the moonlight was a bundle huddled under a blanket, it's peaceful rise and fall indicating that the bundle was, in fact, asleep. Hiro very quietly dove back under her own blankets, searched her pockets as silently as she could, and pulled out her coin. Without a word, she kissed the coin, careful to avoid the obvious _pop_, and then gingerly placed the coin under her pillow.

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Toshi snarled like a caged tiger as he threw his small bar stool across the room, and watched as it splintered into a hundred pieces.

"What did you say?" he asked through gritted teeth. His roommate smirked at Toshi's juvenile behavior. Sometimes the bandit could be such a child.

"I said that Kouji gave those two new kids money from th' job today." Toshi flew into a pint sized rage once again, and fortunately missed the picture of his roommate stifling his laughter.

"Why them? All they did was fire a couple a' arrows!"

His roommate shrugged. "That Jin kid did find all of th' hidden money an' stuff!"

"What do you know? You weren't even there!" Toshi shouted, and he glared when his roommate spared him a quick glance and then retreated to his bed. As if Toshi's anger was of no consequence to him. And it wasn't.

Still, he couldn't help but ask. "Why does it matter so much anyways Toshi?"

Toshi snapped. "What do yo mean why does it matter? How can it not matter? They've been here fer a couple a days. Kouji ever give you money from th' job?" Bohai shook his head. "That don't make you mad? We been here longer than those kids! I been here longer than them, and I ain't never got paid for it!" His voice dropped dangerously low. "I've done my time. And I'm tired a' getting treated like...like one a' you!"

Bohai's face fell. "One of us? C'mon Toshi. You are one of us. Ain't nobody here better than anybody else!" Toshi shook his head. He refused to believe that. He wasn't like the rest of them. Not by a long shot. He would eat with them, drink with them, steal with them, even bunk with them. He would laugh with them and fight with them. But he would never admit to being one of them. He wasn't on their level. Bohai rolled his eyes. Toshi was split right down the middle. He was either a really great guy or he was a really...not so great guy. Either black or white. Never gray. A guy could get pretty dizzy trying to keep up with him.

But the two of them had been roommates since the beginning. Sure, Toshi was pretty hard to handle. But Bohai had had worse roommates in the past. During the course of his life and the time spent flitting from gang to gang to gang, he had come across some pretty crude characters. He glanced at his left hand for a moment and stretched all three of his remaining fingers. Yes, he had met some crude characters indeed. But the Mt. Reikaku bandits hadn't given him a reason to leave just yet. Not in the nine months spent with them. And if all he had to endure was a little griping from Toshi, then he would gladly take it.

"Go to sleep Toshi. You'll feel better in the morning." Toshi nodded his head, but Bohai knew that he had barely heard his friend's words. There was no reasoning with the men when acted like this. He watched as Toshi stared at the wall, his shoulders rising and falling in a rhythmic dance from his heavy breathing, and Bohai sighed. Best to try to get some rest. With that last thought, he blew the lamp out and nestled into his blanket.

He blinked a few times, his eyes adjusting to the darkness. He glanced in Toshi's direction even though the darkness prevented him from seeing a thing.

"Night Toshi," he called out. The only reply was heavy rhythmic breathing.

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The cool night sky was blanketed with hundreds upon hundreds of dazzling stars, all of which twinkled in an intermittent pattern. But of all the constellations that hung suspended in the endless sea of black, one of them shone more gloriously than any of the others. It was one of the seven constellations of Suzaku- the one that read _wings_. Tasuki smiled as he gazed up at his beloved mountain fondly. He was home.

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Akari stretched her arms high above her head and grinned when she felt the satisfying_ pop_ in her back. Or rather, satisfying _pops_. That bed was becoming less and less comfortable the more she slept on it. But that was all right. In fact, it was more than all right. It was wonderful. Hiro's eyes scanned the dining hall for a couple of empty seats for the two of them to sit at and try to enjoy their breakfast. Lunch was the easiest crowd. Some of the bandits preferred not to eat lunch, or to head into the towns at the foot of the mountain to enjoy a quick meal. But dinner and breakfast were pretty big deals, and every bandit in the fortress made sure to attend. Dinner meant sake. Breakfast meant orders from Kouji. So it was in the bandits' best interest to be present during those two meals, or at least to make an appearance. When Hiro found two spare seats, she gently tugged on Akari's jacket and the two began the walk over to them, but when Hiro felt Akari stop in place, she turned around. Akari was staring at something- or someone.

"What's going on Jin? We're going to lose our seats." Hiro asked in her bandit voice. She was speaking quietly, and the bandits were all so loud and boisterous in the morning, it was probably unnecessary. But she didn't want to take the chance.

"Who's that guy sitting with Kouji?" and Akari pointed across the room to a table near the back. The table was completely empty except for two men, Kouji and...someone.

Hiro shrugged. "Don't know. Never seen him before. C'mon. Before someone takes our seats." Akari nodded, and watched as Hiro successfully claimed the two empty seats. But her gaze was pulled back to Kouji and the mysterious stranger. The red hair, golden eyes, contagious laugh. No, she was sure she hadn't seen him before. But he seemed...a tiny bit familiar to her. She didn't know how. She would've remembered his face if she had, but somewhere, deep down in her gut, there was this tiny spark of familiarity. She looked for a moment at Kouji. While there was usually a grin on his tanned face, this was different. He was beyond happy.

"Jin, come on!" she heard Hiro yell at her from two tables down. She ripped her attention from the two men, and took her seat next to Hiro. The two of them exchanged small talk over rolls and fresh milk, but they looked around in confusion as the bandits in the hall began to cheer and stand to their feet.

Akari's eyebrows furrowed. "What in the world?" The bandits seemed to be chanting something, but she couldn't make it out the imperceptible word. _Bend row_?_ Kin row _maybe? Hiro nudged her with her elbow, and gestured towards the back of the hall. Suddenly, Akari understood. The bandits were cheering for the stranger, the red headed man sitting with Kouji. Hiro's eyebrows raised in subtle surprise as the man hopped up on the table and began flexing his muscles, his wolfish grin now reaching his ears. The men cheered even louder. And they began chanting that word again. Akari balled up her fists. If there was one thing she despised, it was not being in the know.

"What are they all yelling?" she shouted to Hiro as shouting was the only way to get a word across to her companion even though the girl was standing right beside her. Hiro watched as the man hopped off of the table and resumed his seat next to Kouji. The red headed man and Kouji were clearly well acquainted, and they both burst into a fit of laughs, their arms tossed casually over each other's shoulders.

She turned towards Akari, and shouted back to her. "It sounds like they're yelling...", and suddenly it clicked. "Genrou!" she said, partially to Akari and partially to herself. Her head snapped up and she pulled Akari in close. She was tired of all the needless shouting. "Remember last night, Kouji said something about his friend, the real boss, who kept the whole money tradition thing?" Akari nodded. "And he said his friend's name was-"

"Genrou!" Akari shouted as she suddenly understood. As the dining hall's inhabitants began to quiet down and return to their breakfast, Akari and Hiro sneaked one last glance at the two bandits. Kouji was talking to the other man- this Genrou character- and it seemed like it was rather serious.

'Probably catching Genrou up on everything that's happened since he last visited,' Akari thought to herself. Breakfast was drawing to a close, and the bandits were beginning to dissipate, heading back to their sleeping quarters to finalize their plans for the day. A little thieving. A little drinking. Maybe even heading down to one of the local villages to find a pretty barmaid to sit in their laps. And there was always the other option- a lot of thieving, a lot of drinking, and then most definitely a trip to the local village to find a _handful_ of barmaids to sit in their laps. Yes, that was much more exciting. Hiro and Akari both grabbed one last roll before vacating their seats and heading towards the door, the latter resisting the urge to cast one more glance at the two men. And that was fortunate because if she had, she would've found them staring back.

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"Those are th' two I told ya about!" Kouji said, pointing across the room towards Jin and Shang.

Tasuki smiled. "The ones you said reminded you of the two of us?" Kouji nodded. "They look a little small." he remarked, and smirked as he saw the smaller of the two huddle close to the taller one like a shadow. In the same way that he had done to Kouji.

Kouji laughed. "Yeah, but they'll grow. And small don't mean nothin'! You were small when you first showed up too!" His companion growled.

"What do you mean small? I was just as tall as you were." he said, pouting much like a child would. Kouji laughed. "And who cares about that? We're the same size now!" Tasuki mumbled.

"Ya blind? I'm still th' tallest." They both snarled at the other before jumping to their feet and standing back to back. "Hah! See? Like I said, I'm still th' tallest!" Kouji boasted. Tasuki turned like a jungle cat, his hands balled into fists.

"No way. You're cheating. You're taller only because you have big hair! Big girly hair!" Tasuki shouted, eager to win this argument.

Kouji's jaw dropped at his friend's ridiculous accusation. "What are you talking about? The girls love my hair!"

Tasuki smirked when he saw his opening. "Yeah, bet they do! Bet they'd love to braid it!" He dodged Kouji's fist effortlessly, and laughed. "Maybe stick flowers in it!" He skillfully dodged another left hook. "Or maybe they wanna pile a bunch of sticks inside of it and let a couple of birds nest there!" Tasuki's voracious laughter finally got the best of Kouji and gave him that much needed boost. His hand shot out and caught Tasuki by the collar, and he relished in the look of surprise on Tasuki's face. It wasn't too often when Tasuki was beaten by his friend, not as far as speed went anyways. He pulled the red head close and breathed in his face.

"Take that back ya little cub before I make ya eat those words!" he said with a devilish grin.

Tasuki pouted in mock fear before his face gave way to a smirk. "As long as I can wash them down with some grade A sake, then we're square!" Kouji tried his hardest not to laugh, but he was never very good at being serious, especially when it came to his very best friend. He released his hold on Tasuki's jacket, and smiled, his arm thrown back across his friend's shoulder.

"Good ta have ya back Genrou ol' buddy!"

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Akari squinted her eyes in an effort to make the target a little bit clearer. Unfortunately, squinting her eyes did very little to help her see it better. In fact, it made hitting it with the arrow a little more impossible. She had since broken a light sweat, and could feel her bangs sticking to her forehead. She wasn't overworking herself. She was simply trying to concentrate her very best. And of course, maneuvering the bow was taking quite a bit out of her. But Hiro was a slave driver, and had no intention of letting her one and only pupil quit until she could hit the target dead center.

Or at the very least hit the target.

Hiro heaved a frustrated sigh as Akari drew back her arrow, and prepared to set it loose. "Focus Jin!" she said, throwing her hands up into the air and approaching the girl once more. "Look at how sloppy your form is. If you can't keep your elbows locked, this thing is going nowhere fast. And if that target were an enemy, you would be dead right now!" She straightened the girl's arms, rather roughly, but Akari was much too proud to let her know it. "Now, try again. And this time, keep both of your eyes open. When you squint your eyes, your face gets all bunchy!"

Akari growled, but only half of it was directed at Hiro. The other half was directed at the blasted target. She was determined to figure this out. Hiro had demonstrated it at least five or six times, and each time, she hit the target and was near perfect every time. Akari had shot six arrows, and only two of actually zipped close to the target. Two of them flew far up out of range, one of them landing somewhere in a tree tops. And the other two fell on the ground with a disappointing thud after she had released them. The whole show was rather humiliating. And she was tired of being humiliated.

If Hiro could do it, then she certainly could do it. She fit the arrow into place, and wrapped her hands around the bow. The wood and leather made the newly formed blister on her palm begin to sting again, but she paid it no mind. Her mind was firmly set. She was going to hit that wretched target if it was the last thing she did. She took a deep, calming breath before fixing her arms in place, and pulling the arrow and the bow string as far back as she could possibly manage. The muscles in her arm were on fire, but she didn't care. She began to squint her eyes again, but stopped as Hiro's voice popped into her head. The last thing she wanted was a bunchy face. _Keep both eyes open. _And with that, she opened her eyes, held her breath and released a cry as the arrow leaped from the bow and tore the air like a bolt of lightning.

And sorely missed its intended destination hitting the one of the legs of the target instead. Her heart sank in her chest like a piece of granite, and Hiro's shoulders dropped. She glanced sideways at Akari, and felt the tiniest bit sympathetic towards the poor girl. Attempting her hand at comforting Akari, Hiro opened her mouth and hoped that something heartfelt and poetic would usher forth, but was suddenly cut off.

"Ya missed boy!" The girls turned around, and found they had attracted a small but arrogant audience. Akari stiffened at the cheap shot, determined not to let the bandits get to her. But her resolve slowly began to crumble when they all began to laugh at her.

"That was pathetic," another one called out. "Nowhere close!" More snickering ensued.

"Yeah, remind me never to put my life in Jin's hands. Especially not when those hands got a bow in them!" At that, the men all burst out laughing, and then suddenly bored with the situation, they all turned to find more interesting things to devote their attentions to. All except one. Akari stared at her feet, utterly ashamed. But Hiro kept her eyes calmly fixed on Toshi. And he stared back, just as coolly. Wanting to avoid any unnecessary conflict (although slashing his other cheek seemed like an awfully wonderful idea at the moment), Hiro turned back towards Akari and handed her another arrow.

"Here," she said, placing the arrow in Akari's hand. The girl looked up and stared at Hiro as if the girl was clearly out of her mind. But Hiro shook her head. "Never mind those guys. They just enjoy messing with us. You know that." She moved behind Akari and propped her arms into position.

But Akari simply let them fall again. "C'mon. They were right. I'm awful. I...I can't do this!" She threw the bow on the ground and watched it the dust settle around it.

"They weren't right! You're getting better." Akari shot her a disbelieving look. "You are! I swear. The first time, your arrow fell out of your hand. This time, you...well, you didn't hit the target, but you hit a part of the target. And that's close!" She stooped to pick up the discarded bow, and held it out to Akari. "Closer than you were six arrows ago. C'mon! Try it again. You'll get it." Her voice softened. "I promise." And something in her voice begged to be trusted.

Maybe. Just maybe. Akari took yet another deep breath, and then readied her arrow. Her roommate smiled.

"Let me go and get that arrow. You don't want anything distracting you!" And she ran off in the direction of the target. Akari's eyes followed her for a moment before returning to her bow. Her concentration was so fixed on positioning her hand and fingers that she didn't recognize Toshi standing right behind her until his breath hit the back of her neck.

"I can help you wit' that." His voice was low and menacing, and she choked back a startled cry as she turned on her heels and jumped back.

She swallowed hard. "Thanks, but I think we got it!" Her voice wasn't nearly as confident as she had wanted it to sound.

He smirked, and somehow, the friendly gesture looked...less than friendly on him. "I don't think you do Jin."

"Get away from him!" Toshi looked up in time to see Hiro dash across the courtyard and appear at Akari's side, her hands clutching the shattered arrow. Her heart was pounding, and only a small part of it was because of the run. As much as she hated to admit it, she was scared when she turned around to find Toshi bearing down on Akari. Maybe even more than scared. The guy was bad news. Her grip on the arrow tightened. "I said get away from him!" she said through gritted teeth.

Toshi laughed. "Don't get your panties all twisted Shang! I was just offering some assistance. You boys clearly need some help." Akari's lip quivered.

But Hiro wasn't so easily offended. "He said we got it! So thanks, but no thanks!" The last part came off slightly less than gracious, but she was hardly in the mood to muster congeniality. Unfortunately, Toshi was hardly in the mood to be disrespected by a sniveling little worm of a boy. He stepped forwards, his hands balled into fists.

"You better watch your tone kid. I ain't gonna take that from anybody here, much less a pint sized ankle biter! You talk down ta me again, and I'll make sure you can't see outta both eyes!" he snarled, and then quickly turned back to Akari. "Now, I offered my help. You gonna take it runt or what?" he yelled, and Akari squeezed her eyes to block the tears from falling.

"They said they got it!" Hiro, Akari and Toshi all turned around simultaneously to find Kouji and Tasuki walking towards them. Kouji grimaced. "So I think you've worn out ya welcome, don't ya think?" Toshi's features smoothed out, and he shrugged his shoulders.

"Sure. I can take a hint." And with that, he turned, hands buried in his pockets, and left the courtyard. The girls remained silent, not entirely trusting their voices at that moment. Tasuki rolled his eyes.

"I take it that's the guy you were telling me about?" he asked Kouji, shooting an agitated backwards glance at Toshi's retreating figure. Kouji nodded, not altogether trusting in his own voice either. Why didn't he tell Toshi to leave when he first started causing trouble? From what he had heard, Tasuki could tell Kouji wasn't exactly fond of the guy. In fact, there were very few people that Tasuki would ever say that Kouji actually hated because he was so good-natured. But occasionally, it did happen. And Tasuki would wager that now was one of those occasions. He grinned. "Just gimme the word pal, and that guy is barbecue!"

Kouji smiled. While he would shy away from that particular option, he knew that Tasuki was good for it. The guy was as loyal as loyal could be. "Nah, he ain't worth it!" He turned to face the boys who were still standing silently. "Is he guys?" The two shook their heads. "That's what I thought!" he said, a very Kouji-like attempt to boost morale. "So boys, figured it was time I'd introduce all a' you!" He threw his arm around Tasuki's shoulder. "This is my buddy Genrou. The one I was tellin' you both about the other night?"

"Yeah, we guessed that it was," Hiro said quietly.

Kouji's face read _confused_ all over. "How'ja guess? I didn't tell ya what he looked like or somethin', did I? Cuz I don't remember that!"

Akari shook her head. "All the guys cheering his name at breakfast sorta tipped us off!" she said sarcastically, her previous mood (more or less) forgotten. Tasuki laughed.

"Yeah, I guess that'll do it!" he said with a grin. Akari felt her own lips pull up into a small smile that she couldn't refuse. There was something wonderfully pleasant about this bandit. Maybe it was his carefree attitude. Or his infectious laughter. Or his ease with people. He seemed to be very good at making you feel like the two of you were friends even though you had never met. Just then, he extended his hand.

"I'm Genrou." Akari gently placed her hand in his, but paused at the name. She had become quite used to her alter-ego since stepping inside the bandit fortress, but for some reason, she wanted ever so badly to introduce herself as her self. Not as Jin. But as Akari. And she entertained the notion for half a second, but eventually gave way to reason. There would be no justifying her actions if she blew their cover.

"Jin," was the sole reply. In the same thoughtful way, Tasuki stretched out his hand to Hiro who readily accepted it and offered her own name in response. Kouji grinned.

"Yeah, I was tellin' Genrou about you two!"

The girls nearly blanched. "Why?" Hiro asked, her voice cool, masculine. Tasuki laughed.

"He said that you two reminded him of the two of us when we were younger and sort of new at the whole bandit thing!" Akari almost pointed out that she and Hiro weren't _new_ at the whole bandit thing, but then decided to keep her big mouth shut. Who was she kidding? They were slowly starting to fit in, but initially, the two of them stuck out like sore thumbs. And if her bow skills served as any sort of indication of their "past experience" as bandits, then they were obviously out of their element. But Kouji hadn't made any mention of it that just yet, and Genrou didn't seem like a snitch. So she figured she and Hiro were safe for the moment.

"Well," Kouji started, running his hand through his mane of hair. "We'll let you two get back to practicing." He glanced at Akari whose shoulders were already sagging with the prospect of having to try her hand again only to inevitably fail. "Don't worry about those guys. They just like messin' around and causin' trouble. But it's only cause you two are the new guys. It's just somethin' they do."

"Yeah," said Tasuki. "They used to pull all kinds of crap on me when I first showed up. They set snakes loose in my bed while I was trying to sleep!"

"That's nothing!" Kouji exclaimed. "When I first joined, a couple a th' older guys mixed some bad herbs with my food. I was sick fer almost a month!"

Tasuki waved Kouji away as if his words were irrelevant. "I got an even better one!" he proclaimed. "Two weeks after I joined up, the pranks started slowing down and I thought I had come through the worst of it. Oh no. It had only begun," he said with an uncomfortable laugh. "A bunch of the guys got into my room while I was sleeping, and without waking me up, managed to pull my bed out of my room, down the hallway, out to the wall, up a ladder and onto the roof! I woke up and nearly threw myself over the side! That was definitely the worst one ever!" Suddenly, Kouji burst out laughing uncontrollably, and he was so disoriented by his never ending guffaws that he had to grab onto Hiro's shoulder to steady himself. She couldn't help but smile at the man's enigmatic behavior, and the smile on Hiro's face caused Akari to snicker as well.

Tasuki's face broke out into a wide grin. "What Kouji? What's so funny?" Kouji's high pitched squeal caused the three bandits to respond with laughs of their own, and the entire scene was rather humorous as the only one who had any reason to laugh was Kouji. Tasuki balanced himself, hands on his knees to keep from falling over in merriment. "Are...you gonna," he tried to say through his chuckles. "...tell us what's so funny?" And his sides began to hurt.

Finally, after what had seemed like minutes, Kouji gained the tiniest bit of composure and ran with it. "Your prank? The bed on the roof prank?" Tasuki nodded his head, eager to hear just what was so funny. Kouji wiped the tears from his face. "That was my idea!" he said, and began laughing all over again when he saw the grin on Tasuki's fade disappear in an instant. Hiro and Akari tried their hardest to maintain some semblance of composure, but they had to agree with Kouji. The whole thing was beyond hilarious. And Tasuki's angry glare only made it all worse! "I told the guys to do that! And they actually pulled it off! And you were so angry!" He fell over, unable at last to hold himself up, and sat in the dust. "You must've pouted for a solid week trying to figure out just who was responsible for that! And no one owned up. Man, you were so mad! I had forgotten all about that!" He wiped his hands on his pants and attempted to stand up, but Tasuki was by his side in a flash, and shoved the bandit back in the dust. Kouji's head snapped up angrily, but when he saw the rage on Tasuki's face, his strength gave and he fell back into a peal of laughter.

"I'll see you two later!" Tasuki said to Hiro and Akari, and two nodded back. "I got some stuff to take care of!" And he took off at a brisk pace back towards the fortress.

Kouji slowly began to calm down although the occasional giggle did slip through his defenses. "Genrou, c'mon man, where ya goin'?" he asked, his voice carrying through the courtyard.

"I'm doing a bit of redecorating!" Tasuki called back without so much as a backwards glance. "I'm moving your bed on the roof all by myself!" Kouji's face fell. "Then we'll see whose laughing ya big blue-haired idiot!" And with that, he disappeared through the door. Kouji was on his feet in the blink of an eye.

"I'll see you two later!" he called out, and then ran inside without waiting for a reply for the two bandits.

The girls stared at the doorway stunned for a moment before Hiro finally spoke up. "Well, that was strange!" she said, a tiny smile evident in her voice.

"Yeah, I know." Akari answered. "Isn't that wonderful?"

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**So there you go. Another chapter down. Another I don't know how many more to go! I had SO much fun with this chapter because it really gave me a chance to explore some of the dynamics. We got to see the girls in action. We got our first major glimpses of Tasuki- always a treat. And I got to play around with Tasuki and Kouji's friendship. Their dialogue really writes itself, I have to be honest. I also wanted to set the stage for the relationships between the two bandits and the 'new kid' bandits (aka Hiro and Akari). Don't worry. Tasuki doesn't find himself passionately in love with Jin. Still, there are nuances that will be played with. All in all, a fun chapter to write, and so I hope it was a fun chapter to read. So even though I'm running the risk of sounding a bit desperate, please review. Let me know what you think. I've gotten some great input so far, and it's helped me to fix things that I hadn't noticed. But reviews help keep the poor authoress motivated. So do it. Give in. Hit that button, and let me know what you think! I've loved the reviews I've gotten so far, but I would LOVE to see some more. Thanks so much! More coming soon!**

**V.W.**


	5. Chapter 5

_**Flights of Fancy **_

**Disclaimer: The characters from Fushigi Yuugi are the creations and property of Yuu Watase and related enterprises. However, Akari, Hiro and any of the other original characters are products of my overly active imagination, and my compulsive need to see to it that everyone winds up happy. Or at least some version of happy. **

**Author's Note: A great big round of applause to everyone who reviewed chapter four. A well deserved thank you to the ever faithful _Azure Ryukiba _and _AgrandMalfunction _without whom I might've been tempted to quit on chapter two. Haha. And a big shout out to _IttyBittyTidbits _, out newest reviewer. Thanks so much for all of your awesome input. You all are simply grand!**

**So here is the long awaited chapter five. I'm quite excited about this particular chapter. It's quite a beast. I broke 9,000 words. I'm not sure if that is good or bad. My pesky muse wouldn't allow me to stop until she was satisfied. ****I won't give too much away, but this is sort of the first major turning point of the story. A first among many. Haha. But certainly a first worth noting. I loved writing this chapter. And I hope it lends you, as the reader, a bit more to understand and interpret about the characters. So without further ramblings by moi, onto the show.  
**

**Happy Reading!**

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Chapter Five

The sun was sitting high in the sky beating down upon the Earth below it and beckoning all of it's inhabitants to play and frolic to their hearts' content. And for Tasuki, Kouji and the rest of the Mount Reikaku bandits, a beautiful day only meant one thing. Beautiful money. And they set out to make their money- or, rather, to steal it.

Hiro grimaced under her eye patch, and withheld an audible growl. She had not intended to become separated from Akari, but she honestly had very little choice. Kouji was determined to pull a decent amount from whatever merchants or travelers came their way, but Genrou had been more interested in taking a few men to secure the back roads to be sure they weren't being tracked by rival gangs. When Tasuki had suggested taking Jin along to maybe give him some real target practice, neither of the girls could resist. After all, a real bandit would've been grateful for the opportunity to enhance their skills. And when Kouji agreed to take Shang along with him on the raids as extra back up, both Hiro and Akari had no choice but to split up and play their parts sans their partner. Genrou and Kouji had playfully teased the girls saying that they would be fine to venture on their own for at least a couple of hours, and they would have plenty of time to hold each other's hands at dinner.

But if either Tasuki or Kouji understood just how much of the girls' survival was dependent on their partner player, then perhaps they wouldn't have pressed the issues so completely. And so, the girls were stuck. Stuck with their prospective bandit. Stuck without each other. And neither of them were entirely pleased. Or at least, Hiro assumed that Akari was just as bothered by the situation as she was.

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'This is so much fun!' Akari thought to herself. She stared up at Tasuki through her thick white bangs in admiration and awe as he explained the methods of tracking in so dense a forest. She listened with a steady smile as he pointed out plant types, animals footprints, broken twigs and the different ways to determine where a potential culprit might attack from. He made it a priority to point out poisonous plants and berries to ensure that she never eat them in the event that she was stuck out in the forest for an extended period of time, and explained to her how to purify the water from the stream so as to make it more suitable for drinking.

She chimed in when she could, but stayed silent for the most part. Tasuki glanced back at Jin and laughed. The kid may have been a little on the small side, but there was no reason for him not to be as successful as the other thieves. And he was certainly willing to lend the boy a hand when the occasion called for it. The entire party of bandits had covered a decent amount of ground in the time that they had been on the back roads, and had yet to find any trace of rival bandits, trackers or ill-boding strangers. Still, Tasuki couldn't shake the sense that they were not alone. But it would do no good to scare the kid.

"You been getting any practice time in on that bow of yours?" he asked over his shoulder, keeping his voice to a respectable minimum. Fortunately, Akari had no problem discerning his question.

"A bit," she offered back, her voice low and husky. She was getting quite good at adjusting her voice to suit all sorts of situations- drunken songs, shouting during dinner, passing on the occasional joke or dirty limerick, laughing at the occasional joke or dirty limerick, and conversing with the different bandits. She shrugged her shoulders in as manly a way as she could. "Shang is pretty much all about the practice whenever we can get it in." Tasuki nodded back and was about to respond when the hairs on the back of his neck stood on end and he snapped his head to the side. Something wasn't right. He glanced around at the other men, but didn't notice any tension from them. Either they weren't feeling what he was feeling, or they were hiding it- pretty well, he might add. Or...he was just imagining things. That was always an option. Maybe he was simply wrong.

He nearly stopped in his tracks. Tasuki, Celestial Warrior of Suzaku, endowed with divine power by the palaces of heaven, fearless leader of the Mount Reikaku bandits and beloved hero of the Konan empire...wrong? He smirked. Never. He returned his gaze to the boy at his side, and tried his best to split his attention between the fledgling bandit and the eerie stillness throughout the trees.

"Well, Shang is doing you a good service makin' you practice whenever you can. Not a bandit or Imperial soldier out there who is a great shot without having first put in the time, ya know?" Akari nodded her head. "I mean, take Kouji for example. He couldn't hit the broadside of a..." Tasuki words failed him at once as one hand went to unsheathe his tessen while the other hand quickly and firmly moved Jin to a place of safety behind his back. Akari opened her mouth in a sad attempt to ask an unnecessary question, but she shut her mouth quickly with one stern glance from Genrou. And fear began to inch slowly, surely, up her spine. She hadn't known the bandit for all that long, but what she had seen of him thus far suggested that he was more of an overgrown kid than the leader of a rough and tumble pack of thieves. The guy was hardly ever serious from what she could surmise. And so if the harsh lines around his eyes and grim determination splayed across his jaw was any indication, he was gearing up for trouble. And trouble for Genrou meant trouble for Akari. Or Jin rather. But either way, trouble was trouble. No matter who it was directed at. And the fear in her spine morphed into terror.

When Tasuki turned his head around and caught her eyes, she stared intently so as not to miss a single word.

Unfortunately, there was no time to utter any last minute instructions. Not to Jin anyways. Tasuki tightened his grip on the tessen, and dug his heels into the first beneath his feet.

"Time to show em' whose boss boys!" he yelled to his men just as the enemy emerged through the trees as stealthily as any Tasuki had ever seen. And they were on his men in a second. He half grinned, half snarled at the first bandit that dared to oppose him, and the man was dead seconds later. After the spell breezed past his lips like a favorite song, his tessen sprang to life, its flame shooting across the glade and engulfing three more men. Just how many were there?

He attempted to spare a moment to check on his men and to estimate how many enemy bandits there were, but he was tackled nearly instantly. The bandit was quite a brute, and Tasuki struggled underneath the man's enormous frame. Fortunately, the man was all brawn and no brain, and he gurgled in bloody disappointment as Tasuki pulled his dagger from his stomach. The guy hadn't even seen it coming. However, there was very little time for Tasuki to celebrate this tiny victory. He scanned the crowd. Had the attack already lasted minutes? Or only seconds? He couldn't tell; it had all happened so fast. The rival gang seemed to be retreating. Or else, the survivors were fleeing, leaving their wounded and dead to the mountain. And suddenly, his mind flashed to Jin. The kid!

Tasuki frantically searched the glade. Where was he? His stomach tightened. While he could hope that the kid was all right, chances were stacked against him. He was small. Weak. Easily picked off. If the kid had any sense at all, he would've- the Celestial Warrior heaved a sigh of relief- if the kid had any sense, he would have hidden himself far from danger. Tasuki smiled as his eyes fell on Jin's form, huddling beneath a rather tall bush. Certainly not the bravest thing to do, but at least the kid was alive. Tasuki heaved a sigh of relief and nearly laughed.

"You can come out kid! I think the big bad boogie men are all g..." The force of impact as his body slammed into the ground knocked the wind straight out of Tasuki and his words halted violently in his throat. Before the stars had a chance to clear from his vision, the hands around his throat tightened and hauled him to his feet. Between the sound of his head slamming against the tree and the deep-throated chuckle coming from the bandit attacking him, Tasuki heard his name being shouted at him from somewhere across the way, and his mind sprang to attention. His hands immediately went to his neck in an attempt to pry the hands loose, but their hold on him was iron-tight. He tried to maneuver his legs to kick the bandit away from him, but either the man had his legs pinned down with the force of his own body or Tasuki's lack of oxygen was preventing him from successfully moving them at all. Whatever the case, he was stuck. Stuck tight. Between a rock and a hard place. Or at least between a tree and a really, really strong guy. Either way, not a great place to be stuck in.

His head began to swim dizzily. Not good.

"Wh...what...do you...wa..." he grunted as the words struggled to get past his teeth. The burly man grinned.

"Whatta we want? That's kind of a dumb question to be askin', don't ya think? Especially since it could be th' last question you ever ask. Better make it a good one!" He laughed at his own 'witty' retort. "We want all'a you Reikaku scum to run back ta ya mommies with ya tails between your legs! Is that too much ta ask?" He laughed again. If Tasuki weren't so busy staying conscious, he would've spared this guy a much deserved eye-roll. "We're tired'a hearin' that you lot are th' best bandits Konan has ta offer. Keepin' the whole mountain ta yourself, actin' like you're better than th' rest of us! Well guess what?" He leaned in close, his foul breath tickling Tasuki's nose. "You ain't better than me Genrou." Tasuki's eyes widened a fraction. "That's right! I know who you are. The famous Genrou. Everybody knows your name! Well, soon, everyone will know my name too!" He licked his lips, savoring the moment. Savoring the moment far too much in Tasuki's humble opinion, but who was he to argue? Oh yeah. He was the guy pinned to the tree.

"_Hey, isn't that Tai _everyone will say. _The guy that killed Genrou?_" He laughed again, his hold around Tasuki's throat tightening viciously causing him to grunt painfully.

'This is it!' Tasuki thought to himself. He thought briefly on his life, and decided that it had been a good one. And even while the life was slowly being drained from his body, he marveled at that thought. A good life. A really good life. Better than most. Not as good as some. But better than most. And certainly more than he deserved.

And then, _her_ face was before him. All smiles and noble intentions. And his heart turned a bit in his chest. He would've liked to have seen her again. His priestess. His beautiful priestess.

"Geez!" the bandit grunted. "You're a hard one ta kill!" His smile burned Tasuki. "But I got all the time in the..." His body jerked for a moment, and Tasuki watched as the bandit's smirk was replaced by a pained expression. "...world..." He choked as his hands loosened and his body slumped forward and hit the dirt hard. Tasuki was on the ground in an instant, his legs instantly giving way as his body nearly heaved from lack of air and the desperate need to re-fill his lungs. He breathed greedily, his Celestial powers making up for the rest. What would've killed a normal man only momentarily stunned him. So what would've taken a normal man quite some time to recover from only took him a strained minute or two.

After his heart stopped slamming in his chest and his breathing began to return to a normal pace, he looked over at the bandit. And there, protruding from his burly shoulders, was a well-placed arrow. His eyes shot forward. Across the glade stood Jin- or rather, sat Jin, as he had sunk to his knees sometime in the last minute or two. His bow was still in his hands, and his hands were shaking like a leaf in a thunderstorm. Tasuki dragged himself over to the kid who had barely lifted his eyes to Tasuki at all, but instead, remained on the dead bandit. Tasuki wearily prodded the kid with his hand.

"You all right there Jin?" Silence. "Jin?" No response. A hint of panic began to set in. He knelt in front of Akari, braced her with his hands on her shoulders and began to shake her lightly. "Jin! Snap out of it man. Come on! Are you ok?"

"I..." she whispered. Tasuki halted. "I..."

He gave the kid an extra few seconds to continue before what little natural patience he possessed failed him.

"Jin," he yelled. "Open your mouth and finish your sentence. Are you all right?" Jin looked up at him, his green eyes piercing through his unruly bangs. And then, just when Tasuki's heart was about to explode inside of his chest from tension and what could only be construed as worry, Jin smiled.

"I got him," Akari whispered, her voice as masculine as she could manage under the circumstances. Tasuki's eyebrows furrowed in confusion. "I did it." she added, her voice gaining volume. Suddenly, she was on her foot leaving a mystified bandit at her feet. "I did it! I hit the target!" She raised her bow in the air like a trophy and nearly growled at the lifeless body a few feet away.

Tasuki grinned. And then his grin turned into a laugh. A loud, infectious laugh that Akari couldn't help but join.

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Hiro glanced from her spot behind the tree to glance at Kouji and frowned. His attention wasn't anywhere near the road they were supposed to be keeping a watchful eye on. Instead, he was staring up at the tree tops or else the sky behind them. While the man was many things, easily distracted was not one of them. Especially during a raid. It just wasn't in his nature. Not that she knew very much about his nature. But from what little she had come to know about him, he was of a one track mind when it came to looting. So to catch him watching anything other than the merchant road was a bit disconcerting. She stealthily edged towards him and resumed her crouching stance once she reached him. Even her joining him didn't earn so much as a glance. She considered placing a comforting hand on his shoulder in case he was feeling a bit under the weather, but then quickly discarded that thought. Bandits certainly didn't coddle each other. She tightened her fingers around her currently notched arrow. Kouji seemed more or less all right. Maybe he was just thinking about something important. And her presence was most likely disturbing him. But she knew better than to get up and return to her spot. The surest way to ruin the scouting party's chances of not being seen was to put oneself in a position to be seen. And she might as well paint a target on her back if she insisted on switching spots again and again. No. Better to wait it out, and keep to herself.

"Ya smell that?" She turned her head sharply to look at Kouji. He had definitely been the one to speak to her, but he had yet to pull his gaze away from...well, whatever it was he was looking at. Something in the trees perhaps? She shrugged in return.

"Rain," he said, and sniffed the air again.

Hiro glanced up through the trees at the blue skies behind them. Not a cloud in the sky. What in the world was he talking about?

"Breathe it in," he told her, and after a moment of considering her options, she finally gave in and sniffed the air around her.

"It smells like...air," she whispered, her 'Shang' voice firmly in place. Kouji shook his head.

"Nah. It may smell like air, but it smell like somethin' else too. Smells like fresh water." He inhaled again, filling his lungs and releasing it slowly. "Smells like rain."

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As the wandering traveler pushed his kasa off of his head and onto his back, he cast his brown eyes on the road ahead of him. Not a soul in sight. Compared to some of its neighboring countries, Konan's borders were vast indeed, and he still had quite a ways to go before arriving at his destination. Fortunately, he hardly minded the long walk to Mt. Reikaku. While it certainly seemed like the thing he spent most of his time doing, walking never bothered him. In fact, he enjoyed it. Feeling the tension in his body build up and ease away all at the same time. Keeping his feet in step with his heart beat. Hearing the all too familiar _klink, klink, klink _from the rings on his staff every time the wood hit the ground. Good times. Good times indeed.

Especially since he was all alone. While he was certainly a social creature, there were times when even he, in all of his goodness and kindheartedness, needed a moment or two...or ten to himself. It's not that Tasuki wasn't an enjoyable traveling companion. On the contrary. The bandit was an adventure waiting to happen. A burst of excitement. And when Tasuki was gone, he was definitely missed.

However, time apart from the bandit leader was nice too. More then nice. It was peaceful. Quiet. Tranquil and uneventful. And sometimes, uneventful was welcome. At least to this particular traveler. He glanced back at the road he was currently taking. Still no one for what seemed like miles. He ceased his walking to readjust his tunic, rustling a sleeping Tama. The cat released a rather irritated purr, and the traveler smiled.

"Sorry friend. I tried my best not to wake you, you know. Go back to sleep." And Tama did, nearly immediately. His owner couldn't help but envy that. Ever since Miaka's last visit to Konan when all of he and all of his brother warriors fought to defeat Tenko and to return Tamahome's memories to him, he hadn't had a good night's sleep. He didn't toss and turn, wide-eyed and restless like an insomniac. But his sleep was filled with dreams. And instead of waking the next morning refreshed and rejuvenated, he felt just as tired as he had before. The dreams were always very familiar. Not always bad. Not always good. But always present.

Sometimes, his dreams replayed wonderful events that had occurred when all of his dear friends were still alive, and even in his sleep, his lips would pull up into an unconscious smile. He was eternally grateful to have met all of them, and was certain his life was meaningful because of them. But sometimes, his dreams replayed their deaths, and each and every time, he was powerless to stop their passing. He could never slay Miboshi before he had a chance to bring any sort of harm to Chiriko who, although brimming with courage and strength befitting any warrior, would die every time. He could never reach the noble and seemingly unconquerable Hotohori fast enough to protect him from Nakago. He could never convince Mitskake to save his strength in exchange for baby Choka's life, for the lives of all of those helpless and hurting people. And he would wake in a dreadful sweat, his chest heaving, his heart breaking, the voices in his head screaming 'Failure'.

And sometimes, his dreams were of Hikou and of the girl he had loved so very, very long ago. Before deceit and betrayal and passion overtook all of them, and they were, all three, wrought apart for all eternity. In some of his dreams, she chose him over Hikou, and would run to him, throwing her dainty arms around his shoulders, reveling in the feel of him. Other times, she would choose Hikou, and although his heart would crack under the weight of the pain, it wouldn't shatter into a million pieces. And somehow, the three of them would repair the brokenness that had invaded their innocent friendships, and all three hearts would eventually heal. Other times, he would sap the life from Hikou's body with his hands curled around his throat or his sword plunged deep into Hikou's back. He supposed it was his conscience's way of exacting some sort of poetic justice against Hikou. Like a 'you stabbed my back, I stabbed yours' sort of way. But he knew, deep in his heart, that he no longer held any ill feelings towards any of them. Towards her. Towards him. They three had been the greatest of friends as children. And while he was the only one still living, they were still just as precious to him. So while his dreams attempted to plague his mind with thoughts of the past, he let the past rest in its proper place. With Houjun by that raging, muddy, life taking river.

However, his thoughts of goodwill didn't placate the dreams. Good or bad, they were always there. He glanced back down at Tama who was sleeping peacefully, his tiny chest falling and rising with every restful breath.

'Lucky,' he thought to himself before rolling his eyes. 'Here I thought I could use the quiet time.

And I'm wasting it envying the cat, you know. I need to pick up the pace and get to Mt. Reikaku. With Tasuki around, I wouldn't have the mental energy to be jealous of Tama.' He smiled at the thought. Yes. He certainly did miss the young bandit. As loud and abrasive as Tasuki was, he had become a brother of sorts. And it would be good to see him again. After years of nothing but the two of them traipsing up and down the Konan countryside, two weeks apart seemed like a lifetime.

The traveler looked up at the sky and the sun beating down on him. With no one around for miles, he would have plenty of time to himself. Without another moment's hesitation, he gently removed his mask from his face. While it was tiring to go without it around strangers, it was nice to feel the sun shine on his broken face when he was alone. He used his free hand to shade his eyes, and stared once more at the sky above him. Those were rain clouds off in the distance. Dark rain clouds.

He sighed. The rain was sure to slow him down a bit. But he preferred the rain. Especially after a restless night's sleep. The water seemed to wash away all of the grime from inside of him as it purified the earth around him. Yes. He could use a good storm.

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Hiro smiled to herself when she felt the welcome _pop_ in her back as she stretched her arms high above her head. Sitting crouched against a tree or a rock was hardly comfortable, and it wreaked havoc on her frame. Still, it was pleasant to enjoy the quiet that accompanied the raids. It wasn't exactly quiet once the merchants or travelers got involved, but while there was downtime, the woods were peaceful and calming. One could almost say that she enjoyed herself on the raids. Pity that they had to return early on account of the gathering storm clouds. She still had no idea how Kouji managed to call the oncoming rains. If she didn't know any better, she might have suspected him of conjuring the storm rather than simply predicting it.

Suddenly, one of the bandits ran past her towards a group nearby. While she ordinarily would've preferred to mind her own business for the sake of remaining blissfully ignorant, the words 'surprise attack' ransacked her attention, and she slowly made her way closer to the group in order to make sense of all the voices.

"C'mon! You tellin' me you guys haven't heard?"

"We just got back from th' raid. Kouji called it off early on account of th' rain."

"What do ya mean attacked?"

"I mean attacked. Right in the middle of _our_ woods. A whole bunch of em'!"

"Kouji's not gonna like this."

"Those guys are dead!" A number of the bandits cheered their agreement, and Hiro fought the urge to roll her eyes. Bandits.

"Were any of th' others hurt?"

"Yeah. A few of them were hurt. Some pretty badly." Hiro turned on her heels and began to inch away from the group. She had heard enough to piece together what had happened. Gang wars and the such. Not exactly her cup of tea.

"What about Genrou? Did he make it out all right?" At the mention of his name, Hiro stopped dead in her tracks, her pulse quickening. 'Genrou? It was _his_ group that got attacked? But...Akari was with him!' Without another thought, she took off running, leaving the group behind to sort through all of the sordid details. She could hardly care less what else had happened or who else was hurt. Her thoughts were on her Akari.

What if she hadn't survived? What if she had been kidnapped by the other bandits, and was being held hostage? What if she was still alive, but just barely, lying on her bed as death hovered nearby to claim her last, shallow breath? All these thoughts and more plagued her mind as she ran through hallway after hallway, and upon reaching their room, she didn't hesitate to throw open the door. Much to her relief and surprise, she didn't find Hiro dead, missing, or on the brink of death. Instead, she found her lying on her bed, still fully decked in her bandit garb, humming to herself and tossing her precious coin in the air.

Overtaken by unfamiliar emotions, Hiro bolted across the room and threw her arms around Akari's neck, eager to assure herself that the girl was, in fact, still alive and not a figment of her imagination. Akari, on the other hand, merely patted Hiro's back awkwardly, not entirely certain where the odd burst of emotion had come from. Hiro pulled back and began to scan her charge, keeping a close eye for any scratches or scuffs.

"Hiro, what on earth are..."

"Are you all right?" Hiro cut her off, not at all concerned with satisfying the girl's curiosity. But at that point, Akari's mind had yet to catch up with the situation.

"All right?" she asked confusedly. "Of course I'm all right. Why wouldn't I be?" Now it was Hiro's turn to be confused. Surely, the 'attack' story wasn't all gossip.

"I...I heard there was an ambush." Realization hit Akari, and her face became pinched with excitement.

"Oh, there certainly was an attack! And what's more, I cheated death today Hiro!" she declared. "There was death, staring me down with his beady, little red eyes, and I just scoffed at him." The manner in which she puffed her chest reminded Hiro of roosters in a farmyard, but she hardly thought it was the time or place to admit it out loud. "We were just watching and waiting and Genrou was telling me all sorts of things about berries and animal tracks. And all of a sudden, these men came swooping out of the trees. Just like our boys. But they weren't as handsome or clean." She scrunched her nose as if the smell was still lingering.

"I don't understand," Hiro said. "I heard some of the men were hurt. Was it bad? It must've been bad?"

"Of course it was bad. We were caught completely off guard. But we just sprang into action. Well...the others did. I hid, naturally. But then there was Genrou. And there I was. And there he was."

"Genrou?"

"No! The oaf who had him pinned to the tree. Please Hiro. Follow along!" Hiro didn't bother trying to disguise the roll in her eyes this time.

"And then, all of a sudden, he was back on his feet." Akari continued, pacing around the room as she waved her arms wildly.

"The oaf? When was he off his feet?" Hiro asked confusedly. Where in the world was this story going?

Akari glared at her. "Are you even listening at all? Genrou was back on his feet because it was sticking out of the oaf's back!"

Hiro threw her arms up with a heated sigh of frustration. "What was sticking out the oaf's back?"

"My arrow!" Akari shouted back. "Honestly Hiro. For all of your years spent taking orders, one would think that your hearing was sharper than that." Hiro's eyes narrowed.

"And for all of your years spent with your nose in your books, one would think you would be able to tell a decent story without coincidentally leaving out crucial bits of narration." Akari's back straightened. She was quite unfamiliar with Hiro talking back to her. In fact, Akari wasn't at all sure that she liked this new and improved Hiro.

"Well, for all your years...oh, never mind!" she spat out. "This is ridiculous. We've just shot over the most important part of the entire story!"

"Yes, of course. Genrou survived." Hiro asked, her previous anger more or less subsiding. She had always had trouble staying angry at Akari for very long. Not that the girl hadn't deserved Hiro's anger on one or two occasions. But Akari was so blissfully and painfully unaware sometimes that Hiro felt compelled to cut the poor girl a bit of slack.

"What?" Akari asked, her face bunched in confusion. "Oh. Yes. He's fine. Because of me. Because of _my_ arrow." She stared pointedly at Hiro waiting for some sort of reaction, and sighed when the only reaction she received was Hiro's shrugging shoulders. Did the girl need a road map to navigate the story? "I killed him. I killed Genrou's attacker. I saved Genrou!" she shouted, her smile firmly set back in place. Hiro's face fell. Akari was much too excited about the attacker's death. In fact, her preoccupation with his death was a little unsettling. However, if Akari noticed any sort of trepidation from her companion, she didn't show it and instead, continued with her story.

"I saw Genrou pinned to the tree, and his face was red and blue. And the big guy was just shaking him and shouting all this stuff about how he would be remembered for killing the _Great Genrou_." She began to simulate her pulling the arrow from her pouch and readying the bow. "And all of a sudden, I knew what to do. And I did it!"

Hiro paused. "You killed a man."

Akari's hands fell to her side. "Yes, didn't you hear the story?"

"Didn't you?" Hiro asked, and Akari's fists clenched at the tone apparent in her former nursemaid's voice. "You took a life."

"In order to save another life." Akari countered.

"Does that justify it?"

"You would've killed Toshi if he had tried to attack me again. I know you would have. Would that have justified your actions?" Hiro grimaced. So like Akari to twist things in order to prove her very invalid point...or was her point so invalid?

"Well, I was trained to react that way. It was my duty to protect you. I- I was just doing my job," she countered, but even she felt her argument was a little on the weak side. Akari crossed her arms, her feet planted firmly to the ground.

"And I was trained to what? Wait around daintily while people come to my rescue? Cry on the floor while people are killed?"

Hiro sighed, not entirely liking where this conversation was headed. "You and I are different people, my lady." The title fell from her lips as easily as a little white lie. Akari's face hardened. How hard would she have to work before everyone started to take her seriously?

She took a frustrated step forward, but Hiro held her ground. "I am not your lady. And we are not _that_ different." She stopped for a moment to gather her thoughts, and then smirked at Hiro. "How did you feel when you saw the cut on Toshi's cheek? Hm? The blood dripping down his face? How did you feel knowing that he had tried to hurt me, and that you had hurt him instead?" She paused to give her words time to sink in. Fortunately, it didn't take very long. She could see her answer all over Hiro's face. "You liked it, didn't you? Yes, you were just doing your job, but some part of you enjoyed it. Some tiny, itty bitty part of you enjoyed besting that disgusting pig." She smirked. "Well, burly _Genrou Killer_ was my Toshi!"

And with that, she hopped up on the bed, and made a show of aiming her bow at the imaginary culprit, and then released the invisible arrow from her fingers. "It just flew out of my hand and sped through the air like...like...well, I don't even know what like. But it was beautiful. And I might as well have painted a path through the air. It just soared and then _hit..."_ she clapped her hands together loudly. "...right where I wanted it to. In between the brigand's shoulders. And he hit the ground like a rock!"

"Like a rock is right!" The girls' turned on their heels so fast that Akari very nearly fell over as Genrou's voice called out. He was standing in the doorway, a grin on his face and a laugh in his eyes. The girls instantly froze. How long had he been there? And how much had he heard? Hiro nearly growled in frustration.

'Idiot,' she thought to herself. 'How could I be so stupid not to check the door?' They both braced themselves for the fight they knew was coming.

"The guy never even saw it coming!" Genrou continued, scratching his head like a flea bitten dog. Akari snuck a glance at Hiro. So far so good.

"We didn't see you there Genrou. Sorry. If we had, we- we would've invited you in or something." Akari blurted out, trying her best to ascertain the situation.

"That's all right. I just got to the door. But it sounded like you two were busy. I didn't mean to interrupt or anything." For all of his good nature, he completely missed the twin sighs of relief that sprang from the girls. Hiro jumped in, eager to fix any necessary damage. Maybe he hadn't heard enough to figure out that they were lying, but he still could've heard something that could damage them.

"Nah, you aren't interrupting anything. Jin was just tellin' me about you two and your big adventure today. Sounded pretty intense," she added in her gruff Shang voice. "Sounds like he really came through today, huh?" Tasuki nodded.

"Yeah, he really did." Suddenly, he began to rub his neck nervously. "Actually, that's what I came here to talk about." He glanced over at Jin. Now, Akari didn't fancy herself the type of girl to crumble under scrutiny, but something about the intensity in his gaze made her want to buckle at the knees and crawl out the nearest exit. "I didn't get a chance to really thank you for what you did today."

Akari offered a nervous smile as she tried her best to come off cool and detached. "No big deal Genrou." But Tasuki shook his head.

"No, it is a big deal. You saved my life. And so now I owe you." He extended his hand to her. "So whenever I can repay the favor, you let me know. And I promise to come through for you." He laughed after a few seconds. "Well, I promise to _try_ anyways. As long as it ain't weird or creepy."

Akari's eyes went from his face to his hand and back up to his face. "So we got a deal?" he asked.

Hiro watched as Akari slipped her hand into Tasuki's. Even though Akari tried to grasp his hand as hard as she could to compensate for her naturally delicate handshake, his hand still engulfed hers. "Deal!" she answered. And Tasuki grinned at her.

"Great!" he exclaimed, and truly meant it. "Well, I'm gonna..." He was cut off by the crack of thunder that erupted outside the open window. Tasuki slid over to the window and stared outside at the rain that was falling in unpredictable sheets. "Wow," he said with a low whistle. His voice was directed at the girls, but his gaze stayed on the storm. "It's really coming down out there. Knew it was going to rain today. The mountain smelled like rain."

Hiro rolled her eyes.

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THREE DAYS LATER

"What do you mean he called the troops back?" Minister Xu shouted at his attendant, taking no pleasure from watching the sniveling man run for cover when the shoe that he threw hit the wall above the attendant's head. The man quickly ran his hands over his body, assessing the damage. When he was relieved to find there was no damage, he stood up shakily, making sure to keep his head bowed reverently.

"Lord Jianyu insisted that the troops could not continue to search given the rain, my lord," the attendant offered, gesturing weakly to the window and the unceasing thunderstorm outside of it. Since the storm had begun three days earlier, it had continued mercilessly and without any hint of stopping any time soon. The countryside was waterlogged, and there was no telling when the rains would cease. Unfortunately, that put a startling halt on the search for the Minister's missing daughter.

"Because of the rain. Ha!" Xu exclaimed. "The sooner I leave this blasted country, the better. I can return then to Hokkan where a little thing like a summer shower doesn't effectively shut down the capital city." After the capital had been more or less turned upside down in an effort to locate the missing daughter of the diplomat from Hokkan, Xu, Jianyu and the Empress decided it was time to begin searching outside the city walls. There were a number of farming and fishing villages all throughout the countryside as well as that monstrous Mt. Reikaku.

However, once the rains began, it became harder and harder for the troops to travel. And when two soldiers had to be rescued from the raging river after the embankment they were standing on collapsed, Xu had to fight harder and harder to convince his host to continue the search despite the weather. However, if his attendant was relaying accurate information, than that meant that the troops were returning, and that the search for Akari was on a stand still until further notice.

The sniveling attendant squeaked and ducked once again when the Minister's other shoe came flying towards his face at perilous speeds.

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The kasa twisted and turned, dove and flipped as it tried its best to navigate its way up the mountain through the awful storm. While the monk preferred to walk, the rains had proven to be too much for him. And so he and Tama graciously sought refuge inside of his hat. Sometimes, riding in the hat seemed to him to be a bit of a cheap way out of doing a little walking, but when the occasion called for it, the occasion called for it. And considering the fact that the storm hadn't so much as slowed down in the past three days, he chose to take cover inside of the hat. Tama was certainly grateful. The ride was definitely dryer if not a bit more bumby and topsy-turvy.

When Chichiri felt jarred by the all too familiar 'bump' indicating that the hat had landed, he peeked his head out and sheltered his eyes from the offending rain. And he smiled. Even within a torrential downpour, he couldn't mistake the bandit stronghold. He had finally arrived. And he didn't bother to try denying his excitement at seeing Tasuki and Kouji and the others again. It had been a long time since he had seen the red head. And much too long since he had seen Tasuki's bandit counterpart. Over the years, Kouji had become a good friend. It would be good to spend some time with them both.

Chichiri stood up, and stepped out of the hat. And after making quite sure that his mantle was on securely, he carefully placed Tama back in his prime spot, nestled near Chichiri's beating heart. He gripped his staff firmly, and restored the hat back to its rightful place behind his head. After knocking on the massive door that served as the stronghold's main entrance, he stretched out his life force in order to determine whether the bandits in question were even home. At this point in his training, it took no effort at all for him to sift through all of the individual life forces within the stone fortress until he found the ones he was looking for.

He smiled. Yes. Kouji was definitely there. Chichiri could sense that the bandit was happy- happy and edging ever closer to inebriation. It wasn't even supper time yet, and the man was well on his way to being drunk. The monk smirked. Some things never changed. And that comforted him. He probed further. There. There was Tasuki. Happy. Not drunk. But happy. And content also. Chichiri was glad. His friend deserved to be. Tasuki was probably with Kouji, the two of them having a couple of drinks before dinner. The monk would never understand why they felt it was so necessary to prep for an evening of supper time drinking by having a few drinks. It didn't make any sense to him. But he wasn't a bandit. So maybe it was best he didn't understand. He continued to stretch through the fortress, and he felt tinges of familiar life forces from the many men who lived in the stronghold as well as the life forces of any and all new bandits. .

Suddenly, he stopped.

"Hmm," he said to himself. "That's interesting." He stretched his life force a little further to confirm his suspicions. "Very interesting, you know."

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Toshi chugged the remainder of his ale, and ran his sleeve across his mouth. There was an all too familiar grimace on his face as he listened along with the other bandits at the dinner table.

"And then, Jin came flyin' through th' trees like a tiger, an' pounced on th' guy. He didn't even have a chance to defend himself before Jin took out his knife and sliced th' moron's neck clean open!" said the bandit who was currently speaking, and commanding the attention of every man at the table. Toshi rolled his eyes. Three days later, and they were still talking about Genrou's brush with death and rescue at the hands of that _kid_.

'If they don't all quit their yammerin' about that brat, then th' kid's gonna need someone to come and rescue _him_!' he thought to himself and smirked at the thought. The continuing talks at the table dragged him from his disturbing train of thought.

"That's not what I heard," another bandit said. "I heard that Jin kicked the guy's legs out from underneath him, an' stabbed th' guy through th' heart with one of his arrows. And his bare hands!"

"Yeah, I heard th' same thing," another one piped in.

"That's not what I heard." Another bandit. Toshi sighed. He had about as much as he could take.

"Enough!" he shouted as he slammed down his mug. The others fell quiet. "You think that shrimp could slice a guy's neck? Or stab someone through th' heart? I mean, look at him!" As one, they all turned their heads to glance over at Jin who was deep in conversation with Shang. The two of them made quite an irritating pair, always earning attention from the higher ups, getting money from Kouji and saving lives like they were heroes. Toshi went back to sipping his ale. "Just last week, all of you were busy tryin' ta run those kids outta here. And now, you all wanna marry em'!"

A chorus of 'C'mon man' and 'You don't know what you're talkin' about' rose from the other men. Toshi smiled, and he huddled over the table. The other men, sensing his intentions, stooped in and huddled over the table as well so as to better hear whatever it was he had to say.

"I got an idea," he whispered, and the rest of them smiled. "Time to knock that Jin down a couple'a notches!"

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Tasuki's laugh echoed through the hallways as he carelessly threw his arms across both Kouji and Chichiri's shoulders. The trio took their time making their way to the banquet hall, exchanging all manner of talk and stories. The bandits tried their best to fill Chichiri on all the important goings on that had occurred since he had parted ways with Tasuki. Chichiri, as well, tried to bridge the gaps regarding all that had happened to him since he had last visited Mt. Reikaku. That included a trip to Mount Taikyoku to visit with Taiitsukun to make his usual report and to catch up on a bit of training. Tasuki grinned devilishly.

"I bet grandma was happy that I came back here instead of going with you to visit her!"

Chichiri laughed at that. "I would be lying if I said that she didn't look pleased to know that you weren't with me, you know. But I suspect that may all be a cover up. I think she likes you more than she lets on," he said with a smile on his voice.

"Probably cuz none of th' other warriors of Suzaku ever yell at her th' way he does," Kouji chimed in as he punched his best friend's shoulder.

"Yeah, yell in fear!" Tasuki added as an afterthought, and shuddered as unwarranted images of Taiitsukun's face popped into his head.

"Some things never change, you know." And while he didn't admit it aloud, Chichiri was glad for it. While the universe seemed more or less at peace, for the moment, there was a constant sense of turbulence all around him. People in need. Justice to be served. His own sanity to be kept intact. With all those things swirling around inside his head, it was nice to be able to rely on little things. Finding that he could trust in those things to never change or turn on him made it feel as though time could slow down for him- just for him. And sometimes, it felt like time could stop completely.

Kouji sighed in contentment. "Yeah, but some things do change," he said as the three of them neared the door to the dining room. The noise from within the room had already reached a dull roar.

Chichiri snapped to attention. In all of the excitement of being reunited with his friends, he had completely forgotten about his little discovery upon reaching the stone fortress. "Speaking of things that change, I was very surprised to find that the Reikaku bandits are now admitting girls, you know. That's one thing I never thought I'd see!"

The look of confusion that passed over both of the bandits' features did not go unnoticed by Chichiri.

"Girls?" Kouji asked, the idea completely foreign to him, even in his half-drunken state. He reached for the door and opened it, allowing his two friends to enter before him.

"What are you talking about Chichiri? We'd never let girls join the group. You must be a little off your game pal. On account of the rain or something." Tasuki added as if the thought were the most ridiculous thing he had heard of. And in all actuality, it might have been. Girls? On Mt. Reikaku? The last girl that had been in the fortress wound up being the Priestess of Suzaku. Tasuki's countenance fell for the tiniest of seconds as her face flashed before his mind's eye. And he batted it away.

Chichiri frowned. "Rain or not, I was sure that I felt-" His words stopped as he felt the hairs on the back of his neck stand on end. Much like they always did when trouble was near. His attention fell on a particular bandit. And for whatever reason, Chichiri decided then and there that he disliked this man. This bandit with the scar on his cheek. He slinked through the crowd with a group of about five or six men behind him, all of them smiling menacingly, as they neared one of the tables.

And while they weren't near as psychically sensitive as he was, Kouji and Tasuki both knew Chichiri well enough to recognize when he felt that something wasn't entirely right. They both followed his gaze.

Kouji sighed. "Toshi," he said with obvious disdain. "What's that guy up to now?"

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Toshi tried his best to keep his excitement to himself. His hands were still clasped tightly before him, carefully sealed so as to keep whatever was in them from getting out.

Just a few more steps.

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The moment that the rat was slipped into Akari's tunic, she jumped out of her seat with a shriek. And no sooner had that shriek erupted from her lips did Hiro jump up to help her. However, the arms that wrapped around her effectively prevented her from making any sort of move at all. As hard as she struggled, she could not free herself from the man's grasp.

Akari screamed and scrambled about in a vain attempt to escape from the rat that scampered through her shirt and tried its best to claw a way out. The moment that she pulled her tunic free from her britches and saw the rat fall to the ground, her eyes filled with tears. Not in relief. But in horror. For in all of her shrieking and stomping about, she had somehow knocked off her hat. And her silky tresses cascaded down past her shoulders.

A hush fell through the banquet hall.

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**Ahhhh! What's gonna happen?...Well...I know what's going to happen. ;) So what did you all think? Tell me tell me tell me. In order for the next chapter (which is well on its way to being done) to be as great as it can be, I need to know what you all thought about this. Was it up to par? What you expected? An epic fail? Let's get some new names in that review section. Thank you so much to the ones who have been keeping up with the story and are reviewing. Where oh where would I be without you? Hope you enjoyed chapter five. More coming soon! (Shameless Insert- chapter six may come a lot sooner if we get some more reviews/reviewers...just a thought.)**


	6. Chapter 6

_Flights of Fancy_

**Disclaimer: The characters from Fushigi Yuugi are the creations and property of Yuu Watase and related enterprises. However, Akari, Hiro and any of the other original characters are products of my overly active imagination, and my compulsive need to see to it that everyone winds up happy. Or at least some version of happy.**

**Rating: PG-13 just to be safe. This thing has a mind of its own. The rating may or may not change as it continues. The violence isn't horrific, but it is there. The humor isn't crude, and the language isn't blush-worthy. However, it isn't a happy-go-lucky read either. I suppose the best adventures aren't. **

**Timeline/Spoiler: I've set it after the first two OVAs, but before the third. I don't know if the third will even exist in this story. We could easily say a year has passed since the end of the second OVA. If you haven't seen them, you won't flounder helplessly during the reading of this, but I will make references to different things that occurred in them. So it may help your reading if you take a moment to familiarize yourself with them. **

**Author's Note: So...I had chapter six up, and wasn't too sure how I felt about it. I was hoping that I would get some good criticism, and would therefore have a better idea of how to improve the chapter. And I did! A HUGE thank you to It'sTheDee. You're review gave me a lot to think about, and I tried my best to tweak and rearrange chapter six. Hopefully, it flows better! To make up for such a long time in between posts, I made this chapter a bit longer than the other ones. But I'm happy with it. I think it complicates some characters while revealing layers in others. **

**Huge shout outs to everyone who reviewed chapter five. Major thanks to AGrandMalfunction, SheCouldn'tHelpButSing, IttyBittyTidbits, It'sTheDee, and Tag14. I've been reading all of your reviews over the past month, and trying my best to take everything you've said into consideration. I love the feedback that I've gotten so far, and I would love to see more of it. I've been getting constant emails over the past month notifying me that people have been adding this story to their 'Favorites' and have subscribed to the story alert. I love that! Thank you all so much. Hopefully, this chapter will propel some of you new people to review. Let me know what you think. Thank you to everyone for having patience with me. See you on the flipside!**

**Happy reading! **

* * *

Chapter Six

Every eye in the room, bandit or otherwise, was fixed on Akari. The tension and silence was so think, so tangible, that it felt as though one could easily slice it through with a sword, or at the very least, buckle under the pressure. Akari's hands came up and tangled themselves in her hair as if to assure herself that this nightmare was real. Unfortunately, there was no mistaking it. Her deceit had been revealed for all of the bandits to see.

Perhaps it hadn't been Toshi's intent to force her into revealing the truth about her identity, but his actions had set a chain of events into motion that led to it. And suddenly, standing amidst all of these men, some of them she had slowly come to regard as friends, with her girlish figure bound and her form covered in layer upon layer of bandit clothes, she suddenly felt very naked. As if, at that very moment, every man that had his eyes locked on her could not only see her long hair, but could also through her disguise to every bit of feminine beauty and mystique underneath.

Only now, she didn't feel beautiful or mysterious.

She felt dirty.

And dishonest.

And so utterly exposed.

She looked up and found Hiro's eyes. And in them, she saw a very familiar emotion. Panic.

Toshi snapped from his profound shock, and followed Akari's gaze. Shang, her companion? And then, all of it became very clear. 'Of course!' he thought to himself. And without a moment's hesitation, and with a little too much excitement in his step, he turned from Akari and lashed out at Hiro, knocking her hat soundly off of her head. And a gasp was heard all throughout the banquet hall. She winced slightly as the hat hit the floor, and while her hair was still messily contained in the but atop her head, there was no denying it. She was a women as well.

A monstrous clap of thunder seemed to ground Kouji back to reality, and he attempted to shake the confusion from his cloudy mind. He wanted to step forward, but quite honestly, couldn't trust his knees as the moment. How could this have happened? More importantly, how could he have let this happen? Two girls on the mountain. Two girls in the fortress. Two girls had managed to blend in and live with the bandits, and they had done it all in disguise. Pretty good disguises too, if he allowed himself a moment to be brutally honest with himself. And for how long? Jin and Shang had been a part of the group now for well near two weeks. Jin and Shang? Were those even their names? Probably not.

He suddenly felt the tiniest bit queasy. This whole time, he had been keeping a watchful and protective eye on the boys, trying to help them out when he could, trying to make their adjusting to bandit life easier. He had never really bought all that junk about their running away from a group of bandits in Hokkan so as to join the Reikaku band of thieves. They were way too green for that to be believable. But he had believed that they were men. Or boys at least. And he had really started to take a liking to the two of them. A real shame. His features hardened.

"What...in th' world...is going on here?" Kouji asked when he finally found his voice.

Stoically, Hiro lifted her eyes, took a chance, and looked at Kouji. And she swallowed hard. He was angry. Not that it wasn't warranted. He certainly had a right to be upset. But seeing anything other than playful amusement on his face was a bit out of the ordinary. In fact, the only time she had ever really seen him upset was at Toshi. This time, it was directed at her. And she suddenly felt very ashamed.

Toshi glared at the two girls for a moment. And as much as he hated to admit it, his pride was taking a beating at the moment. All of his frustrations were because of two little girls? He was losing his place in the ranks because of them? It had been one thing when he was feeling threatened by the two new boys. It was another thing entirely when all of this trouble was completely because of two upstart girls. How dare they march onto _his_ mountain and upset _his_ life in such a disgusting way?

"I'll tell you what's goin' on here," he said as he rushed at Hiro. Chichiri took an instinctively motivated step forward before forcing himself to stop. "We've all been played." And without a warning, he ripped off her eye patch revealing two perfectly intact brown eyes. And Toshi gasped.

And at that moment, Kouji saw it also. Or rather, he remembered. "The girls from the raid," he said in hushed tones. However, his voice was not hushed enough as to go unnoticed by his two companions. Unfortunately, neither of them knew what he was talking about.

Toshi snarled, and he felt the scar on his cheek sting. He had long since healed, but seeing her again tipped all of his primal anger over the edge.

"You!" he shouted as he took a menacing step in her direction causing her to flinch. And something in Akari broke.

Perhaps it was the gravity of their situation.

Perhaps it was her fight or flight senses jump-starting something within her.

Or perhaps, it simply angered her beyond all reckoning to see Hiro cower before Toshi.

Chichiri raised his eyebrows in surprise when he felt the sudden spike in the girl's emotion. The girl with the long white hair. The girl with unbridled hatred in her eyes. A clamor rose in the room as she sprang like a coil.

"Get away from her!" Akari heard the words escape her lips, but she didn't remember screaming them. Nor did she recall leaping onto Toshi's back. However, in the blink of an eye, he had tossed her off of him like a limp rag doll. And perhaps she was one. For all of her sudden fearlessness, she was helpless against him. She hit the table hard, and met the floor shortly after. This time, Chichiri did not restrain himself. Whether the girls were deceitful or not, his honor code would not allow him to stand by while a woman was treated in such a way. While this affair was hardly his business, he would deal with the repercussions later.

Hiro watched with baited breath as the man with the staff dropped to his knees and helped Akari to stand. Without another thought, she slowly side stepped Toshi so as to gain better access to her fallen comrade. However, were her attentions not so focused on Akari and her reflexes so lax, she wouldn't have failed to notice Toshi's hand swinging soundlessly through the air towards her porcelain face.

And the room full of thieves fell silent as the _slap_ echoed through the banquet hall. Hiro thought she had heard someone call her name, but she couldn't be entirely sure. The ringing in her ears was much too loud. And when had she hit the table? Her hands were drenched in spilled sake, but she hardly noticed.

"You did this," Toshi yelled at her as he gestured to his face. "It's only fair I return the favor." Akari attempted to pull herself from Chichiri's protective grasp the moment that Toshi began to move towards Hiro. But she slumped to the floor in relief when Tasuki's fists came into contact with Toshi's face.

Toshi's head snapped quickly as he stared in absolute shock at the orange haired bandit. "What's your deal pal?" he yelled though _pal_ seemed slightly more malicious than necessary.

"I think you've slapped around one too many girls tonight," was the calm reply. For all of his hotheadedness, Tasuki was more than capable of keeping his cool. Especially _after_ he had successfully punched the idiot.

Toshi blinked, not at all expecting any sort of opposition from the bandits. How in the world could they choose the girls' sides over his? "Did you jus' suddenly forget that these girls lied their way into th' group? Am I th' only that still remembers that?" His voice was loud, but not without reason. Tasuki simply shrugged. He had disliked this guy the moment that Kouji had pointed him out. And he had been looking for a prime opportunity to express that.

"Nah, I haven't forgotten. But that doesn't mean I'm willing to let you wail on two defenseless girls either," he replied calmly, and if Hiro wasn't currently nursing a swollen lip, she might have bristled at being called 'defenseless'. Toshi balled his fists.

"You weren't here when it happened, so you wouldn't understand. Look at what she did ta my face," he said, his voice breaking. He was starting to sound more and more like a child throwing an unnecessary tantrum, but he hardly cared. In fact, his blood began to boil when a smirk splayed across Tasuki's face. Was the bandit leader _laughing_ at him?

"You can thank her later. But right now, I think you need to leave."

Toshi spun on his heels, and gawked at Kouji. "You just gonna let him talk ta me like that? He ain't even in charge!" Every pair of eyes in the room fell on Kouji. Since Toshi had released the rat inside Akari's tunic, only maybe three or four minutes had passed. It was hard to tell since everything had happened so fast. But somehow, amidst all of the excitement, every one had forgotten about Kouji, their attentions so focused on the girls and on Toshi. Kouji felt the attention in the room shift to him, and he glanced momentarily at Jin and Shang.

No. Not Jin and Shang. In fact, he had no earthly idea what their names were. They were probably typical, frilly girly names, to be sure. But he knew they weren't Jin and Shang. Shang and Jin were gone for good. The thought twisted a bit inside of him, but he brushed it aside. He looked at Akari. He remembered her face for sure now. In fact, he wondered how she had ever fooled him so easily. While he had always been a big fan of pretty girls, he knew without a doubt that Akari was by far the prettiest girl he had ever laid eyes on. And he was certain somewhere deep down that she would always be. The thought didn't surprise him. He just knew it to be a fact. Up was up, down was down, and the white haired girl had the face of an angel.

However, this angel could barely hold his gaze for a mere two or three seconds before dropping her eyes to the ground in shame. Chichiri still sat near the girl, but he had since released his hold on her. Kouji shifted his attention to Hiro. Sake dripped from her fingers and her lip was on the verge of splitting, but there was determination in her eyes. Not as certain as he had seen on the day of the raid when she flew to her friend's rescue. At the moment, the determination in her eyes was dulled, obviously by the situation at hand. But it was still present. The fire was near burnt out, but it was there. It was that fire that had caught his attention in the first place. Perhaps her looks were outshone by the other girl, but she was certainly compelling in her own fierce way. Pretty, yes. But strong also. Still, this strength wavered and only allowed her to hold his gaze for a few seconds more than her companion before she too averted her eyes.

Toshi's haggard breathing brought Kouji back to the present, and the blue haired bandit squared his shoulders.

"I think Genrou told you to leave."

If Toshi had anything remotely intelligent to say in response, his pride wouldn't allow him to. He tightened his fists, turned on his heels, and stormed out of the banquet hall. The sounds of his retreating footsteps sounded in the room until he was out of sight. And then slowly, every eye turned back to the two girls.

How had this happened? How had they all been so completely fooled by a pair of girls? They had eaten with these girls. Drank with these girls. Laughed and sang and crept through still woods with these girls. And never, once, had any of them suspected that _Jin _and _Shang_ were simply figments of these girls' clever imaginations. While some of the bandits quietly admired the fact that the girls' had managed to elude an entire fortress of bandits, most of them couldn't move beyond the fact that they had been outsmarted. And they fixed the girls with hardened stares.

And those hardened stares weighed heavily on Akari and Hiro. Shakily, Akari whispered a silent prayer that her legs would hold, and stood to her feet, taking her place near Hiro's side. Neither of them said a word. What could they say? What words could they possibly offer up to the bandits, to Genrou and Kouji that could possibly explain why they did what they did? How could words possibly relay how deeply sorry they were? There was just no way.

Perhaps because they weren't sorry that they did it. They were only sorry that they were caught.

And yet, neither girl could stomach the look in Kouji's eyes. They had seen him angry before, to be sure. And most of the time, his anger had been in some way directed at Toshi. The man seemed to usher in Kouji's bad moods. However, this time, Toshi wasn't the source of Kouji's anger. No. The harshness in his eyes was all for them. And as much as neither girl wanted to admit it, there was clear disappointment written all over his face. Disappointment not just at the situation. But disappointment with them. Akari fought the tears that were threatening to spill over.

"Bohai. Zhen." The two bandits in question stepped forward from the crowds when Kouji called for them. They stood by patiently awaiting their orders. Kouji sighed. "Take em' downstairs and put em' in the lock-up. The two of you are posted there until I say otherwise." Zhen and Bohai nodded before gently grabbing their respective girl and ushered them out of the room. For a moment, Kouji was surprised that the girls hadn't put up any sort of fight, but he figured that they had assumed it was pointless. And pointless it was. Where would they escape to? They were stuck on the mountain with no way of knowing how to get down.

'Oh yeah.' he thought to himself. 'They do know. Cuz I made sure to show them.' He rolled his eyes at his own ignorance. Chichiri and Tasuki stood by and watched. Their desire to say something in order to fill the awkward silence that had overtaken the banquet hall was overpowered by the knowledge that no words would suffice. Without sparing a word or even a glance at the room full of men whose eyes were held firmly on him, Kouji turned and exited the banquet hall and made for his private quarters. Chichiri and Tasuki had no choice but to follow.

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PRIVATE QUARTERS...

Chichiri and Tasuki exchanged hurried glances before returning their attentions to Kouji. Since the girls had been confined to the lock up several hours earlier, Kouji retreated to his private bedroom. He was joined shortly thereafter by Suzaku's only remaining warriors. On a typical day, his oldest and closest friend, Genrou, could take any good situation and make it that much greater. And Chichiri, with all of his wisdom and goodness, could take any bad situation and make it feel as though the sunshine was just about to pierce through the storm. However, there was no good time to be had here, and there would be no sunshine. He had been duped. Without question. He had been humiliated in front of his men, in front of his friends, and it was all because of two girls. Two girls who were currently sitting in a rank dungeon. He allowed himself a handful of seconds to feel guilt for chaining them up before remembering that their deceit was what landed them there in the first place.

But perhaps, more than feeling humiliated, he felt betrayed. It would've been deathly blow to his ego if the men knew that he felt that way. He didn't even feel particularly comfortable with letting Chichiri and Genrou in on his little secret. But if he allowed himself a few moments to be brutally honest with himself, he felt double crossed by the girls. Of all of the preposterous things to do. March up onto _his _mountain, play on _his_ emotions by selling him some frilly story that they most likely concocted on the walk from the capital, and then garner _his _brotherly affections by reminding him of a simpler time. He had grown to like the boys. Yes, they were boys. But in them, he saw potential. In them, he saw fragments of himself some years earlier. Sure, he wasn't a _whole_ lot older than they were, but he was certainly more experienced. And he was looking forward to showing the boys the ropes and teaching them just how to make it on the mountain.

Come to find out, they weren't boys at all. Just girls playing dress up. "A really warped dress up," he thought to himself, and almost smirked at the thought. He took a steadying breath, and looked at the others. He knew that they had been watching him since entering his room. But he wanted to be sure that he had something meaningful to say before he opened his mouth to say anything.

"So, what do we do?" Chichiri and Tasuki looked between themselves before returning their gazes to Kouji.

"What'ya mean 'what do we do?'" Tasuki asked with much less grace than was necessary. "What do you expect us to do?"

"I expect you two ta give me some kind'a idea here." He ran a hand through his mane of hair. "I don't know what ta do wit' em. Do I yell at em'? Apologize to em'? Send em' back home? What?" Tasuki shrugged rather carelessly.

"I'd just send them back home. It's not your responsibility to take care of them. So just pat them on the head and send them home."

Chichiri shook his head. "Pat them on the head? They aren't dogs, you know."

"They aren't bandits either," Tasuki pointed out. "They're just a couple of girls out looking for a good time. Probably figured they could squeeze by on account that they were just a couple'a 'young boys', and get a free meal or two."

"Well, they did pull their weight around here," Kouji pointed out. "They were up early same as th' rest of us, didn't slack off, and they never took more than they deserved."

"So what?" Tasuki half shouted, half laughed. "We all had to do the same thing to prove our worth."

"Exactly," Chichiri interjected. "You all _had_ to do that. These girls didn't."

Kouji eyebrows furrowed in agitation. "Or maybe they did have ta."

Chichiri frowned at Kouji's apparent frustration. Clearly, the bandit was conflicted. And the monk could only imagine what the bandit was feeling. Chichiri stopped for a moment to imagine what would've happened if two girls had disguised themselves as monks and snuck into the monastery. But the thought process didn't last long before he grimaced. Maybe he _couldn't_ imagine what Kouji was feeling. He shook the images from his head, and refocused on the task at hand. "You had to have talked with them at some point, you know. Did they ever say what they were running away from?"

Kouji just shook his head. "I don't make a habit of askin' too much about people when its obvious they don't wanna talk. They told me that they were part of a gang back in Hokkan, an' that they quit their old gang to come join ours. I knew they weren't tellin' the truth. I just figured that if they were willin' ta lie about why they were here, then they must've wanted ta join pretty badly." He stopped to gather his thoughts. "I jus' didn't have any clue how big of a lie they were tellin'."

Chichiri nodded. "Makes you wonder why they felt the need to lie in the first place, you know?" And Kouji had to agree.

Tasuki stared back and forth between the two men, and grimaced.

"Yeah, but they did lie, and that's the real issue here. They lied Kouji. To your face. In front of all of the guys." And Tasuki watched as that one revelation seemed to dawn once more on his oldest friend, and a scowl settled back onto Kouji's face. And inside, Tasuki cheered the tiniest bit.

He knew, perhaps better than anybody, the goodness in Kouji's heart, and if the right strings were tugged, Kouji could be convinced to give or do nearly anything. It wasn't necessarily the greatest quality to possess when in charge of a group of cutthroat bandits, but it did set him apart. However, on this most unfavorable of nights, Tasuki wasn't in the mood to entertain Kouji's chivalrous notions, however buried they were. The last time a woman had stumbled onto his mountain home, his world had been turned upside down. In a beautiful way. One that he would never regret or exchange or do over for all the gold that Suzaku had to offer. But his world had also been turned upside down in a heart-wrenching, soul sucking sort of way as well. And while he was beyond elated that Miaka and Tamahome had found their well-deserved happiness in her world, he wasn't looking for a repeat of events. He had had his share of women troubles, and it had left a bitter taste in the back of his throat. No. He couldn't allow Kouji the opportunity to feel sympathy towards these women.

In truth, he simply couldn't handle it.

"If they were lookin' for help, then they should've come right out and asked for it. No sense in tryin' to pull a fast one on all of us. Besides, they've been here, what? Two weeks, right? What kind of trouble could they have had that couldn't be fixed by two weeks away. Whatever it was is probably all sorted out. So just give them some food for the walk home, and let them go."

"Tasuki," Chichiri said, immediately taking on the ever familiar 'voice of reason' role. "We can't just send them out now, you know. It's still storming. Badly."

The red head stared at his monk counterpart in confusion. "So…we give them blankets for the walk home?"

"We give them shelter," was the firm reply.

"For the night?"

"For however long they need!"

"Well, how long will that be?" Tasuki asked, a certain degree of disbelief creeping into his voice.

Chichiri maintained his unshakable composure, but directed his answer to Kouji. As much as Tasuki was a part of Mt. Reikaku's past, Kouji was the current leader, and the final verdict had to come from him. "We won't know until we talk to them."

Kouji nodded his head, and then sighed before finishing off his cup of sake with one determined gulp.

8888888888

IN THE DUNGEON

The _drip, drip, drip_ of stale water hitting the stone floor echoed through the tiny holding cell. The air was old, and had an unpleasant chill to it, one that sent unconscious shivers down the spine. However, neither of the cell's two inhabitants felt much of the cold. Hiro and Akari didn't feel much of anything, save for the occasional rumble of hunger in their stomachs. Needless to say, dinner had been rudely interrupted by the evening's unfortunate events, and the few measly crusts of bread that were brought down hours earlier did very little to assuage their appetites. Time seemed to speed up, slow down and stop altogether, and so there was no telling how long the two of them had been confined to their stone prison. It could've been merely minutes. And it could've been days. Hiro guessed it had been half a day to a day, but there was no way for her to be certain. And she hated not being certain of anything. Suddenly, a tiny noise broke through the silence, and Hiro turned to look at her companion. Had Akari really spoken or was Hiro's mind beginning to play tricks with her amongst all of the deafening silence?

"Did you say something?" she asked on a small chance that she was right. And sure enough, she noticed a tiny but noticeable nod from Akari. The girl sat with her back against the wall and her knees pulled up to her chest. While her long bags still effectively covered her large green eyes, Hiro knew that they were cast to the floor in shame. And they were probably wet with tears.

"I said...I'm sorry," was the reply, and although Akari's voice was barely above a whisper, Hiro heard her clearly. And as hard as she tried, she could find no words with which to reply. Silence, once again, filled the cell.

"I'm sorry for everything," Akari continued. Apparently, she needed no response from Hiro to prompt her apology. "This is all my fault." And the manner in which she said it nearly broke Hiro's heart. For all of Akari's typical cheerfulness and blissful ignorance, the girl sounded hopelessly dejected and utterly broken.

Hiro stepped in quickly, eager to ease the slightly uncomfortable situation. "Akari, stop torturing yourself. It isn't going to help the situation. We both know that it's Toshi's fault that we're down here."

"No, it isn't."

"Yes, it is!" Hiro replied, raising her voice slightly. "You couldn't have known that he was going to pull such a dirty trick on you. And so you couldn't have prepared for it. You just reacted on instinct. No one would've done differently."

Akari shook her head, her hair swishing this way and that. "But it isn't his fault. Yes, the whole rat fiasco was all him. But if I hadn't dragged you up here in the first place, none of this would've happened."

"You didn't drag me," Hiro said with a disgruntled sigh that did nothing to hide her frustration. Akari brushed her bangs away from her face, and her eyes locked on Hiro's.

"Didn't I?" The look on her face dared Hiro to argue the point. "I bought you off and left you without a choice. It was all my idea. Pretending to be bandits, dressing up like men, marching up here, all of it- me! And now you're here, a prisoner in some rank dungeon with stale bread to eat and chains on your ankles. Don't tell me that this isn't _my _fault."

Hiro swallowed hard. Had she been that easy to manipulate? "Well, you certainly wouldn't have stepped foot outside of your room if you had known we were going to end up here. You didn't think that it would all come to this."

"I didn't think," Akari shouted, the tears finally breaking free and sliding down her cheeks. "I never do. Not about things that matter. Not about other people!"

Hiro ran a tired hand through her hair. While it was glad to be out of the hat and looser than it had been in weeks, it was worse for wear. However, now was hardly the time to think about it. Not when Akari was on such a downward spiral. Not when they were shackled to stone floors. "Of course you do. How can you say that? You saved Genrou, didn't you? Because you were thinking about _him_!" Akari scoffed.

"But I took a life in order to do it," she said, her voice full of an unfamiliar conviction, and she paused. "And I was glad to." The two girls examined each other for a moment before Akari raised an eyebrow in an all knowing way. "You know I'm right. You tried to talk some sense into me, or have you forgotten?"

Hiro certainly hadn't forgotten.

"I just acted on pure instinct. And I was pleased with myself for doing so. 'Look, Akari finally did _one_ thing right'. And I didn't care what the cost was. Because I never stop to count the cost. Never."

"Well, instinct sometimes has to come from your heart. And you can't blame yourself for acting on your heart. Isn't that what all those books that you read say? Follow your heart?"

"Yes. Yes, they do." Akari's shoulders slumped in defeat. "But too much heart and not enough sense is a dangerous combination."

Hiro's temper flared. "Was it wrong for you to attack Toshi the way you did? Because it looked like all instinct to me!"

"That was different. He's a monster. You never stop to count the cost where _monsters_ are concerned. And I couldn't stand the way he was trying to intimidate you like that. _No one_ is allowed to get in your face like that!" She clenched her fists tightly, imagining Toshi's face, and resisting the urge to strike at the memory.

Hiro felt a tiny smirk tug at her lips and simply couldn't resist the urge. "Except for you."

"Naturally," Akari replied without missing a beat, and the two girls, despite their disagreeable circumstances shared a sad laugh. But then no sooner had the laugh ended did the dismal atmosphere settle back into place. It was inevitable. They were still chained in a dungeon, for all intents and purposes, and there was still no way of escape, no way of fortune being spun in their favor. Silence crept into the cell, and very nearly took over before Hiro heard Akari choke back a muffled sob.

"I...I just couldn't do it," she said, her voice cracking under the weight of it all. "I couldn't marry him. Not then. Not like that. I just couldn't throw my life away like that." She took an unsteady breath. "Every since I can remember, I've filled my head with all of these stories about adventures and romance and heroics," and she paused as if stopping to recollect a distant childhood where things were easier. "I was so afraid that my own great adventure would be over before it even began. And I just couldn't bear that." She looked up at Hiro, her eyes pleading for her companion to understand. "I honestly thought- I honestly thought that we would be caught by now. I always half-expected my father's guards to barge in at dinner and carry me away. But I really believed that if I had tasted a little bit of adventure, then it would make everything else bearable. That I would be satisfied." The word felt foreign on her lips.

There would be no satisfaction for her. "But I dragged you down with me. I put us both in danger for the sake of my stupid adventure." She paused for a moment, but Hiro knew that it wasn't a pause that she was meant to fill. "And I made them angry." Akari nearly broke down once more at the thought. "Kouji and Genrou." She rubbed her sleeves across her eyes smearing dirt and grime. But she hardly cared. What did it matter? She had ruined everything. And her next words were whispered and conveyed every bit of her shattered dreams. "All of this was a mistake. We never should have left. I know that now."

With those hopeless words, Akari turned her head to face the wall. Then without knowing how or why, Hiro suddenly found her hand hovering inches above Akari's back. And she paused. Akari's rhythmic breathing brought her back dangerously close to Hiro's waiting hand, but Hiro couldn't bring herself to make contact. As much as she wanted to reach out to the girl and let her know that somehow, things would be better, Hiro found herself unable to make such promises. In her heart of hearts, somewhere even Hiro feared to trek sometimes, she knew that unless divine providence tipped the scales in their direction or turned back time, they were in very real trouble. And Hiro couldn't promise a thing. She couldn't even half heartedly comfort the girl. Not when her own hands trembled in fear. Not that she would ever admit it.

But they did.

And after a few more seconds, she slowly withdrew her hand. She peered down at Akari's huddled form when her eyes caught a number of tears in her shirt. And she frowned.

"Did the rat hurt you?" At the very least, she could tend to the girl's wounds.

"A little."

"Lift up your shirt," Hiro said as she positioned herself next to Akari. "Let me take a look." Akari did as she was told rather robotically, and Hiro scowled. Not only had the inside of Akari's shirt seen better days, her back and stomach were more than a bit scratched. "Well, the rat was certainly headstrong. We'll give him that. He was either going to tear a hole through the cloth or claw a way out through your stomach." She lightly ran her fingers over one of the welts, but pulled back quickly when Akari's tensed in pain.

"Is it bad?" Akari asked, too afraid to look for herself.

"It isn't terrible," Hiro answered truthfully. Without another thought, Hiro began to tear her over shirt apart, forming strips of cloth from the material. For a moment, she considered using some of the dripping water to clean out the deeper scratches, but she reconsidered. The risk of infection was too high. And so she would have to do without the cleaning. She bound Akari up as best she could with what little supplies she had and tried her hardest not to hurt the girl. She looked at the back of Akari's head, and weighed her options. Speak? Don't speak?

Speak.

She took a deep breath. "It wasn't all a mistake," she said sounding less confident than she wanted to.

Akari turned her head to catch her former nursemaid's eyes. "What do you mean?"

"Coming here," Hiro replied, all the while avoiding Akari's eyes. "I mean, yes, if we hadn't left, then we wouldn't be here now. But I think...that if I had to do it all again, I don't think I would do it any differently." She finally glanced up at Akari and saw apprehension and disbelief in the girl's eyes. "Really," she added to further emphasize her point. "For the first time in…a very long time, I felt like my life was my own. It belonged to me and only me." She felt herself pause, and reconsidered her words. Should she be saying these things to Akari? Should she be speaking so frankly? And then she nearly laughed aloud. If she couldn't say these things while chained to stoned walls, then she would never say them. "I was…my own master. And it was wonderful. I was actually a part of something, you know? A part of a group. An equal part of the group- and not just a piece of furniture," she said, and then stopped when her voice nearly broke. She wouldn't allow herself to cry. Not here. Not in front of Akari. Not ever.

The room had become silent and still once again, and the _drip, drip_ of water seemed to function like the _tick, tick_ of a clock marking the passage of time. Hiro assumed it was nearing the early morning. The violent thunder had ceased sometime before, but if she concentrated enough, she thought she could still hear the rain coming down in sheets. They had both succumbed to exhaustion some hours before, but had only slept for maybe an hour or two. And now, both of the girls sat in contemplative thought. But Hiro felt Akari's sneaking glances at her, and fought the urge to snap at the girl and tell her to simply say what was on her mind. She refrained from doing that however, and kept her eyes fixed on a moldy spot on the nearby wall. Akari, on the other hand, continued to peer sideways at her friend. And after spending a few moments opening her mouth to say something and then closing her mouth after deciding that silence was the route to take, she took a deep and resolved breath.

"Hiro," she asked, and the woman in question turned to face Akari. "How did you come to be employed by my father?" Hiro blinked once, and then blinked again. Of all of the questions that she could've guessed would come out of Akari's mouth, that certainly wasn't one of them.

She pressed her lips together, unsure of how she wanted to proceed. The answer was a bit complicated. She was a bit complicated.

"I was sold to your father by my mother." It seemed the easiest response. "She found herself lacking where money was concerned." The words left her mouth before she had sense enough to stop them, and then she sat a bit bewildered at her own frankness. Hiro, where her mistress was concerned, was characteristically silent. 'But she's not my mistress anymore, is she?' she couldn't help but think to herself.

"Didn't your father provide for her?" Akari asked, her own blissful ignorance shining through. Hiro resisted the urge to roll her eyes at the girl's naiveté.

Her first instinct was to circle around the question or perhaps even belittle Akari's sad attempts at intimate conversation. But after seventeen seconds of careful introspection in order to properly ascertain how she should avoid Akari's line of questioning, she realized that she didn't want to.

"My father was never around." And she couldn't miss the look of pride-stabbing pity that dashed across Akari's features, but the girl had never been very good at covering up her emotions.

"That's dreadful."

"Or wonderful," Hiro said, her voice only partially dipped in sarcasm. "My instincts tell me that he probably wasn't the most gracious of men. I like to think that mother and I did our best without him."

Akari nodded, taking all of it in. And for the most infinitesimal of moments, she wondered what her world would have looked like if her father wasn't in it. "Well then, who provided for you and your mother?"

Hiro reflected for a moment. "I suppose we did. She and I together. From a very early age, my mother had me working with a dyer who lived in our village. The wages were meager, but I gather that they helped in some way." Akari blinked. Working? As a child? Her Hiro? She had seen younger women at work in her father's household, but never any children. How useful could a child be, all chubby fingers and runny noses with heads in the clouds and hearts in their playtime. She opened her mouth to ask when Hiro found time for dance training and etiquette classes, but then clamped her jaw shut, ashamed by her own foolishness.

She looked back up at Hiro who was watching her with a strange expression on her face. Insecurity perhaps? "And what did your mother to do provide for you?"

Akari did not miss Hiro's eyes as they momentarily dropped to the floor. She opened her mouth, and then closed it only to open it again. "She...well-I...she ran her own business." Akari nodded, prompting her to continue. "Out of our home," Hiro added for good measure. She had foolishly hoped that her answer would be enough to fulfill the question, but Akari's ever eager gaze was enough to assure her that her attempts at subtlety had gone unnoticed. "Men would come to our home to...meet with her."

Akari blinked. And then blinked again. "For what? For tea?"

"I think they were usually gone before the tea had finished boiling."

And Akari's eyebrows raised very nearly to her hairline. "She was a...a...and they came to your home to...?" Hiro clamped her jaw shut, not at all interested in trekking down this particular road. Akari, however, was not satisfied, and shifted closer to Hiro. Hiro's brown eyes met Akari's green ones, and she saw curiosity and pleading. She turned her head to the opposite wall, resigned not to budge an inch.

If at all possible, Akari's frown deepened and she sighed. Loudly. A moment or two passed by. Akari grimaced, and then sighed again, even more loudly. Hiro growled aloud, and threw her hands up in frustration.

"Well, we lived in the 'Pleasure District'. It was sort of expected. A woman with no husband and a small child to care for? It was only natural, I suppose." Her attempts to sound cavalier and confident were quickly dwindling.

"But in your own home? In the very home you lived and slept and...ate in?" Perhaps were the circumstances different and the two girls hadn't found themselves chained in a bandit stronghold's prison, then Akari would've been horrified by her own frankness. Unfortunately, the circumstances were what they were. And she spared no thought.

As much as Hiro scorned her mother, her duty as a daughter prevented her from allowing her mother's reputation to be questioned in such an obvious way. Even if her mother's reputation was that of poor man's prostitute. "Well, I was young and wasn't exactly aware of what went on while I was out playing with other children in the village. She had previously worked out of a- a brothel," and her voice halted. "But when it was discovered that she was in a delicate condition and would soon be responsible for a baby, she was cast out."

"All by herself?" Akari blurted out, her voice quivering.

"Not- not all by herself. She had me," Hiro blurted out rather heatedly, and then paused to gather her sensibilities. "And she had him."

Akari gasped, all together too pulled into this true to life storybook tale she was hearing. "Him who?"

Hiro shot her a look. "Sorry," Akari said quickly, her eyes cast down in shame. And then, she slowly picked her gaze back up. "Really though. Him who?" And Hiro couldn't help but smirk.

"_He_ handled the business aspect of her...business."

"Like the Emperor's advisor?" Akari asked, eager to understand Hiro's strange world.

"I suppose he was something like that. Customers paid him and he paid my mother."

Akari shook her head. "But- but your mother did...the work."

"I gather it was a complicated business." Hiro shrugged her shoulders.

Akari paused for a moment, clearly deep in thought. "What did he look like?"

Hiro blinked. "Excuse me?"

"What did he look like? Your mother's advisor. What did he look like?"

Hiro threw her hands up in frustration. "Akari, what has that to do with anything at all?"

"Well, it doesn't!" she said, her arms crossed in matching frustration. "But in my head, I imagine him with a crooked smile and maybe a poor eye. Oh, and his voice is always harsh and offensive."

And Hiro shook her head, and allowed herself the tiniest of smiles. Why she had expected anything different from Akari was beyond her. "To be honest, I don't recall him very much at all. Once he entered the picture, he convinced my mother to pawn me off as a worker to cloth dyer." Akari's shoulders hunched a bit. No eye patch? That wouldn't do at all. Naturally, Hiro jumped to the girl's rescue. "But if I do remember correctly, his left ear had been partially cut off. A bar fight most likely." Akari brightened significantly.

"So the cloth dyer?" Hiro averted her eyes. And Akari panicked. She hadn't much practice in comforting her servant girls, even though she had had quite a number of them in her lifetime. Then again, she hadn't had much experience in comforting her friends either.

She had never had very many of them.

"Did…did the cloth dyer treat you poorly?" Akari asked, unsure of how to proceed. But when Hiro smiled softly at her, she wasn't entirely sure that she wanted to hear the rest of the story.

"Well, it's all in the past, isn't it? Merchants are never known for their tender mercies." She paused, and heaved an audible sigh without meaning to. When had she become so soft? So weak? "But I suppose I should be grateful that he treated me in the way that he did. In a strange very roundabout sort of way, I guess it was all a part of fate's plan for me. You see, next door to his shop was a small Shaolin temple, and it was home to the village's martial arts master. If a family could afford it, they would send their sons to his temple to be trained." And then, to Akari's utter surprise, Hiro laughed as if at a distant memory. "Every afternoon, the dyer would close the shop for two, maybe three hours, and take his lunch, sleep for a bit of time, and work on his books. Bad business if you ask me, but in a village of our size that only had one dyer to its name, there was always a need for his services."

Akari watched as Hiro sank further and further into whatever train of thought she was very well consumed in her own little world. But the story wasn't finished. Akari had read enough books to know the end of the good story. The beginning of the heroes' lives were always full of hardships and trials and tribulations, but then the trials were long forgotten when fortunate arose. Fortune had to be close in Hiro's story. It simply had to be. Akari tapped Hiro's shoulder lightly, and drew her from her apparent daydream.

"The temple?" Akari asked, her voice barely above a whisper.

"Oh yes." Hiro shook her head, casting off whatever it was she was so concentrated on. She waited for the familiar apprehension to settle in- the feeling that said 'keep your mouth shut, don't say a word'. But the anxiety never settled. Surprisingly. She took that as a sign- for good or for bad, she couldn't say- and pressed on. "I gather the temple master took pity on me, slaving away for that monster and so very young. And everyone knew who my mother was. It followed me like a demon strapped to my back. There was very little kindness to be shown to the daughter of a…" She wouldn't allow herself to say the word. "Imagine my surprise when the temple master treated me to a sweet cake, and invited me to come play in the temple. So every afternoon, when the dyer would close his shop, I would sneak into the temple."

Akari smiled deeply. 'See?' she thought to herself. 'I knew fortune was close by'. "And he trained you?"

"He trained me." Hiro stared down at her hands, turning them around, back and forth as if studying them, memorizing them. Her eyes glazed over in awe. "I would watch him slice the air with a sword that seemed to glimmer in the afternoon sun, and I could hear its music as it flew through the air. It was like this beautiful dance. And I knew right then that I had never seen anything so breathtaking." She paused, her eyes staring strangely off into space. But Akari knew better than to interrupt.

"And I learned." She laughed; her voice took on an unfamiliar excitement. "I learned everything he had to teach me. He taught me _hard _and _soft_ techniques, and how to disable an enemy using pressure points. He taught me how to manipulate my joints and muscles to improve my flexibility. He taught me how act purely on instinct, and to strike before thinking. But not to strike rashly. He was always talking about wisdom and grace and humility. I didn't always know what he was talking about, but I acted as though I did. I couldn't bear to disappoint him. And he taught me how to handle a blade." As the words left her lips, her hands curled into fists. "Suddenly, I was the dancer. The sword glimmered in _my _hands, and even my dreams were filled with that music."

She halted in her story telling, gazed at Akari, and nearly burst into a fit of giggles. The girl was enraptured by her tale, hanging on every word. And Akari would certainly begin to recognize where this particular tale was headed.

"I suppose it was natural that one day, a man in service of a Lord in Touran came to visit my Master. He had been sent by his Lord to find a suitable bodyguard for his young daughter."

"Me!" Akari shouted, laughter riding on the tails of the word. Hiro nodded.

"His instructions were to find a young man who fit the bill. But after previewing all of my master's male students and not finding any that stood out from among the rest, he finally caved in and took my master up on his offer to preview his only female student." She smirked. "I suppose the rest is history. The man took me and another young boy to be inspected by your father. I think your father was a bit put off by the appearance of a young girl in tattered shoes, but after pitting me and the boy against each other, I gather he saw something that he approved of. He sent the boy home a bloody mess, and sent both my mother and the dyer some money to compensate." And her smile fell.

Perhaps of all the heart rendering soul searching she had done that night, in Akari's presence no less, this next part seemed the hardest to convey. Partly because, in all of the years that had passed since she was purchased from her mother, Hiro had never admitted this single truth to another soul. Not even to herself. She ran a weary hand through her greasy, tangled hair. "They had never even asked my mother or the dyer for permission to bring me to Touran. I went without complaint because I trusted my master. But I think, deep down, I had prayed that she would show some sort of concern for me. She never came. Never sent word. Never made contact. I heard later that she had received the money. And that was all."

Hiro's gaze fell once again to her hands. They were filthy, her fingernails caked with dirt and grime. She was in desperate need of a bath and some oils for her skin. But her expression twisted when she watched as Akari's hand, equally filthy, grasped her own, and she looked up.

"For what it's worth Hiro, I'm glad my father chose you." And Hiro knew that she meant it.

She smiled, and couldn't help but raise an eyebrow. "Yes, but if I had known then that some years later, you would be dragging me through the forest with eye patches and swords in our boots so we could pose as cutthroat bandits, I would ran the other way screaming for my fallen mother!"

Akari pulled her hand from Hiro's grasp. "Why did you have to go and ruin a perfectly wonderful moment?" she yelled, completely unable to keep the laugh out of her voice as she said it. The girls laughed, one with the other, and for the first time since they had been found out, their laughter was not tinged in sadness. Yes, they were two girls trapped in the dungeon of a seedy bandit fortress, chains round their ankles and wrists, and their stomachs quaking with hunger. But they were friends, and they were confident in that fact.

Their laughter was cut drastically short as the sound of keys twisting in a lock reached their ears, and they jumped rather clumsily to their feet.

A man they faintly recognized as one bandit among many stepped into the cell. "Come with me."

Hiro felt Akari's hand once more slipped into her own, and she squeezed tightly. She didn't have to look at Akari to know that the girl was horrified, her tiny frame shaking in fear. And Hiro didn't have the strength or resolve to pretend that her own body was simply quivering because of the cold. Hiro was frightened.

She tried her level best not to let it show. "Come on Akari. It's time."

As a single unit, the girls stepped forward out of their cell towards whatever fate had stored for them.

* * *

**Hope that slated your thirsts for now. I tried to give Hiro some long awaited depth in this chapter (AGrandMalfunction, hope you like!). Chapter seven will be up soon. Thanks to everyone for reading. Now, give in to your desires and hit that blessed 'Review' button! Remember, reviews keep me motivated, and help me to spit out decent (haha, I use that word loosely) chapters.**

**Til next time!**

**-V**


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